UNIVERSITY  CF  CALIFORNIA 
LIFORNIA  COLLEGE  OF  MEDIClfiZ 

OCT  1  7  1972 
IRVINE,  CALIFORNIA  92664 


L 


THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF 
AMBROISE  PARE 


ff^CttiSScJf 


Title  Page  of  Johxstox's  Translation 
(F/r.v/    efVition.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF 

AMBROISE  PARE 

[15IO-  I590J 

V/ith  a  T^ew  Translation  of  his  Apology  and  an 
Account  of  his  Journeys  in  Divers  Places 

by/ 
Francis  R.  Packard,  m.d. 

Editor  of  Annals  of  Medical  History,  J<lew  Tor\ 

WITH  TWENTYTWO  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS,  T'WENTY'SEVEN  FULL  PAGE  PLATES 
AND  TWO  FOLDED  MAPS  OF  PARIS  OF  THE  i6tH  AND  I7TH  CENTURIES 


NEW  YORK 

PAUL  B.  HOEBER 
1921 


Copyright,  1921, 
By  PAUL  B.  HOEBER 


\aJZ  too 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO  MY  WIFE 

TO  WHOM  I  OWE  MY  INTEREST  EN 
FRENCH  HISTORY 


FOREWORD 


HE  object  of  this  book  is  to  present  a 
complete  English  translation  of  Am- 
broise   Fare's   famous   "Apology,"   accom- 

1  panied  by  a  brief  account  of  the  author's 

life,  which  it  is  hoped  may  stimulate  readers  to  a  further 
study  of  his  works  and  of  the  thrilling  times  in  French 
history  in  which  he  was  such  an  active  participant.  The 
close  contact  into  which  the  English-speaking  peoples 
were  brought  with  the  French  during  the  late  war  has 
led  to  an  awakening  of  interest  in  both  England  and 
America  in  the  history  and  traditions  of  our  Gallic  allies. 
Modern  France  can  only  be  appreciated  by  a  study  of 
its  glorious  past,  a  retrospect  which  will  be  found  to 
amply  justify  the  Frenchman's  national  pride. 

An  effort  has  been  made  to  translate  as  literally  as 
possible  the  old  French  in  which  Pare  wrote,  the  French 
of  Montaigne  and  Rabelais.  The  task  has  been  difficult 
because  of  the  many  idiomatic  expressions,  now  dis- 
used, which  abound  on  every  page.  Nevertheless 
those  who  are  familiar  with  Florio's  translation  of  Mon- 
taigne much  prefer  its  many  crudities  to  the  more  flow- 
ing language  of  subsequent  translations.    Johnson,  the 


vi  FOREWORD 

earliest  English  translator  of  Pare,  more  nearly  ap- 
proaches the  original  text  than  those  who  have  followed 
him,  yet  his  old  English  is  in  many  instances  too  crude 
for  modern  readers.  It  has  been  well  said  that  trans- 
lation may  be  compared  to  pouring  honey  from  one  jar 
into  another;  there  is  always  some  of  the  sweetness  lost 
in  the  transfer.  Therefore  the  translator  would  himibly 
suggest  that  those  who  wish  to  read  the  real  Pare  get 
an  edition  of  his  works  in  the  original  tongue  and  learn 
for  themselves  what  fascinating  reading  his  writings 
are. 

Feancis  R.  Packaed. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE 
The  Life  and  Times  of  Ambroise  Pare 

CHAPTEE  PAGE 

I 1 

Political  and  Religious  Setting  of  the  Times.  Available 
Literature  about  Pare. 

II 10 

Birthplace  and  Lineal  Background.  Early  Education  in 
Surgery  at  Vitre  and  at  the  Hotel  Dieu,  Paris.  Com- 
mencement of  His  Career  as  Military  Surgeon. 


Ill 

Campaign  Experiences.  Admission  to  the  Community  of 
Barber-Surgeons.  Marriage  to  Jean  Mazelin,  Life  near 
the  Pont  Saint  Michel  and  at  Meudon.  Possible  Acquaint- 
anceship with  Montaigne.  Extraction  of  a  Bullet  at  Per- 
pignan.  Autopsy  on  a  Wrestler  in  Lower  Brittainy.  In- 
terview with  Sylvius.  The  Siege  of  Boulogne.  Studying 
Anatomy  in  Paris.  Book  on  Arquebus  Wounds  Dedicated 
to  Henri  II.  Journey  to  Germany.  Amputation  by  Lig- 
ature. The  Siege  of  Danvilliers.  Appointed  Surgeon-in- 
ordinary  to  the  King.  Surgical  Experiences  at  the  Siege 
of  Metz.  Captured  by  the  Spaniards  at  the  Siege  of 
Hesdin. 

IV 

Admission  to  the  College  de  Saint  Come.  Controversy 
Between  the  Confrerie  de  Saint  Come  and  the  Faculte  de 
Medecine.  Preparation  of  a  New  Edition  of  His  Work 
on  Anatomy.  Military  Surgeon  at  La  Fere  and  Dourlan. 
Henri  II  Killed  in  Tournament.  Appointment  as  Sur- 
geon to  Fran9ois  II.  The  Death  of  Fran9ois  II.  Appoint- 
ment as  Surgeon  to  Charles  IX.     Incident  of  the  Bezoar 


27 


53 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAOB 

Stone.  Publication  of  a  Book  on  Wounds  of  the  Head 
and  of  the  "Anatomie  Universelle."  The  Sieges  of  Bourges 
and  Rouen.  Discovery  of  a  New  Dressing  for  Wounds. 
Appointment  as  Premier  Chirurgien  to  the  King.  Publica- 
tion of  a  Work  on  Surgery.  Experiences  on  the  Royal 
Progress  through  France.     Smallpox  Epidemic. 


74 


Dressing  the  Wound  of  the  Count  of  Mansfield.  Success- 
ful Treatment  of  the  Due  d'Arschot.  Attempt  to  Bring 
the  Surgeons  under  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Premier  Sur- 
geon to  the  King.  Publication  of  Treatises  on  the  Plague, 
Smallpox  and  Measles.  The  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholo- 
mew. Conjectures  Regarding  Pare's  Religion.  Another 
Book  on  Surgery.  Publication  of  a  Book  on  Monsters 
with  a  Treatise  on  Obstetrics. 

VI 97 

Death  of  Pare's  Wife.  Second  Marriage  to  Jacqueline 
Rousselet.  Records  Relating  to  Pare's  Children.  Autopsy 
of  Charles  IX.  Incidents  at  the  Court  of  Henri  III. 
Complete  Edition  Dedicated  to  the  King.  Opposition  by 
the  Faculte  de  Medecine.  Changes  Made  in  the  Second 
Edition.  Discourse  on  Mummy.  Latin  Edition  of  Pare's 
Works.  Fourth  Collected  Edition  Answers  Gourmelen's 
Attack  by  the  "Apology  and  Journeys."  The  Siege  of 
Paris  in  1590.  Pare  Entreats  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons 
to  Help  Raise  the  Siege.  Death  of  Pare  at  the  Age  of 
Eighty. 


CONTENTS  ix 


PART  TWO 

The  Apology  and  Treatise  Containing  the  Voyages  Made 

INTO  Divers  Places 

PAoa 
The  Apology 129 

The  Journey  to  Turin,  1536 158 

The  Journey  to  Marolles  and  Low  Brittany,  1543     .       .       .168 

The  Journey  to  Perpignan,   1543 174 

The  Journey  to  Landrecies,    1544 178 

The  Journey  to  Boulogne,  1545 179 

The  Journey  to  Germany,  1552 182 

The  Journey  to  Danvilliers,   1552 186 

The  Journey  to  Chateau  le  Comte,  1552 190 

The  Journey  to  Metz,  1552 193 

The  Journey  to  Hesdin,   1553 213 

The  Battle  of  Saint  Quentin,  1557 240 

The  Journey  to  the  Camp  at  Amiens,  1558 244 

The  Journey  to  Bourges,   1562 246 

The  Journey  to  Rouen,   1562 248 

The  Journey  to  the  Battle  of  Dreux,  1562 252 

The  Journey  to  Havre  de  Grace,  1563 254 

The  Journey  to  Bayonne,  1564 255 

The  Battle  of  Saint  Denis,  1567 257 

The  Journey  of  the  Battle  of  Moncontour,  1569  .       .       .       .258 
The  Journey  to  Flanders 262 

Index 279 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Title  Page   of   Johnston's    Translation   . 

Portrait  of   Fran9ois   i    . 

Foot  Soldier  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  . 

Portrait   of   Fran9ois    i    . 

The  Hotel  Dieu  and  Notre  Dame  . 

A  Ward  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  . 

Map   of  Paris   in   1530   .... 

Cavalryman  in  the  Sixteenth  Century     . 

Figure  of  a  Man  without  Arms 

Properties  Owned  by  Pare  near  the  Pont  Saint  Michel 

Portrait  of  Henri  ii  . 

Ambroise  Pare  at  the  Age  of  Forty-five  .       ^\C  [    . 

Gabriel  de  Lorgues,  Comte  de  Montgomery,  Arrayed 
Tournament      ....... 

Henri  ii  Receiving  His  Fatal  Wound  in  the  Joust  with 
Montgomery      ....... 

The  Deathbed  of  Henri  ii     . 

Portrait  of  Francois  ii     . 

Portrait   of   Charles   ix   .         .         .         .         .         . 

The  Constable  Anne  de  Montmorenci     .         .         . 

Cutting   up    a    Whale      ...... 

Portrait  of  Catherine  de  Medici       .... 

Portrait  of  Coligny  ....... 

The  Murder  of  Admiral  Coligny  .... 

Autograph  of  Ambroise  Pare 


PAOB 

Frontispiece 
Facing       2 


Facing  1 8 

Facing  20 

Facing  22 

Facing  24 

.  25 

Facing  84 

.  38 

Facing  4<4i 

Facing  54 

for  the 

Facing  58 

Facing  58 

Facing  62 

Facing  62 

Facing  64 

Facing  70 

Facing  70 

Facing  78 

Facing  82 

Facing  82 

.  103 


i^fd 


Xll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Portrait  of  Ambroise  Pare 
Portrait  of  Henri  in 

The  Camphur,  a  Variety  of  Unicom  Said  to  H 

in  Ethiopia 
The  Reduction  of  Dislocation  of  the  Shoulder 


Procession  of  the  Leaguers  of  Paris 
Map  of  Paris  in   1609   .... 

Bee  de  Corbin  ...... 

Notre  Dame  and  the  Hotel  Dieu  . 
Cavalryman  of  the  Fifteenth  Century 
Reduction   of   Shoulder   Dislocations 
Bombards  on  Wheels  and  a  Platform  . 
Arquebus  a  Rouet  and  Arquebus  a  Meche 
Bombards  or  Mortars  on  Movable  Carriages 
Boulogne  ..... 

Portrait  of  the  Due  de  Guise 

Removal  of  the  Lance  and  Arrow  Heads 

Different  Kinds  of  Arrow  Heads  . 

Different  Sorts  of  Cauteries  . 

The  Tree  Which  Bears  the  Incense  . 

Grenadier  Lighting  His  Grenade  . 

Mangonnel    or    Mangonneau 

Bullet  Forceps 

Different  Types  of  Cannon 

French   Cannon 

Battle  of  Orleans,  1563  . 

Type  of  French  Soldiers  in  the  Sixteenth  Century 


PAGE 

Facing   1 04 

Facing  106 

ave  Been  Foimd 

Facing  116 

.  120 

.  122 

Facing  124 

Facing  126 

.  133 

Facing  150 

.  157 

Facing  164 

.  170 

.  171 

.  172 

Facing  176 

Facing  178 

.  181 

.  185 


.  189 
.  212 
.  239 
.  247 
.  250 
.  251 
.  253 
Facing  254 
Facing  256 


Wounded  Soldiers 261 


AMBROISE  PARE 


THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF 
AMBROISE  PARE 

CHAPTER  I 

T  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century  France  was  experiencing  the 
beneficial  results  of  the  well  directed 
efforts  of  Louis  XI  and  his  immedi- 
ate successors  to  overcome  the  power 
of  the  great  feudal  houses  and  con- 
centrate all  government  in  the  hands  of  the  king. 
Francois  I  ascended  the  throne  in  1515,  and  though 
the  Guises  tried  to  secure  the  succession  to  the  crown 
for  their  family  under  his  grandchildren,  the  effort  was 
a  failure  and  when  at  the  close  of  the  century  Henri  IV 
gained  Paris  by  a  mass,  the  Bourbon  line  was  estab- 
lished to  rule  supreme  until  the  Revolution. 

From  the  accession  of  Fran9ois  until  the  accession 

of  Henri  the  country  passed  through  some  of  the  most 

1 


n 


2  AMBROISE  PARE 

remarkable  episodes  in  its  history.  Cruel  civil  and  re- 
ligious wars,  expensive  foreign  wars — accompanied  by- 
some  barren  successes  but  also  by  stupendous  national 
disasters,  especially  that  of  Pavia  in  1525,  when  Fran- 
cois I  and  the  flower  of  his  nobility  were  defeated  and 
made  prisoners  or  slain — sound  pro j  ects  of  reform  coun- 
teracted by  the  worst  political  and  religious  persecu- 
tion, splendid  projects  for  the  prosperity  of  the  land 
checked  by  wicked  waste  of  public  funds  in  debauchery 
and  foolish  prodigality  to  royal  favorites.  Across  the 
scene  pass  the  figures  of  some  of  the  noblest  and  of 
some  of  the  basest  persons  known  to  history.  Catherine 
de  Medici,  the  vile  Italian,  with  her  incredible  bigotry, 
craft  and  wickedness;  her  three  degenerate  sons,  Fran- 
cois II,  Charles  IX  and  Henri  III;  the  family  of  the 
Guises,  able,  unscrupulous,  ready  to  sacrifice  anything 
to  fulfil  their  ambitions,  anxious  to  destroy  by  any 
means,  no  matter  how  wicked,  every  Huguenot,  and 
finally  committing  the  frightful  crime  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew in  order  that  they  might  do  so;  Admiral  Coligny, 
the  chief  antagonist  of  the  Guises,  with  his  brothers; 
Anne  de  IMontmorenci,  the  harsh  old  soldier;  Mon- 
taigne, the  most  human  of  philosophers;  Rabelais,  the 
doctor  and  priest,  who  under  the  grossest  sort  of  alle- 
gory, attacked  abuses  which  he  dared  not  touch  other- 
wise ;  and  hosts  of  lesser  figures,  including  among  them 
Marguerite  of  Navarre,  a  royal  blue  stocking;  Mary 


(^ta[k   crcmc    €ncor,  o  graiuf^l^s^  tes^  Jlirmcsj. 
Jes  ^fonts'  trj:r.flent  encore,  au  hruit  dc  ran ^rarJ  >^jm: 
^fius  C^mucrs    cnncr  ^  Cncjit  ten  jrand  A^norr.  : 
Crarui'T'erc ,  ct  ^raruf  Swort,  curs  (ctrres,Ct  dcs/frnus-.. 
~I~/tomas    de    Ccu.'~Fe:  ct  oxu..£r . 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  3 

Queen  of  Scots,  whose  tragic  fate  serves  to  obscure  her 
wicked  life ;  Diane  de  Poitiers,  the  elderly  but  fascinat- 
ing object  of  the  love  of  Henri  II,  who  marked  with 
their  combined  initials  the  palaces  with  which  he  de- 
lighted to  please  her. 

Among  them  lived  and  worked  one  whose  fame  as  a 
human  benefactor  will  last  until  the  race  is  no  more, 
who  from  the  humblest  origin  rose  to  high  station  solely 
as  the  result  of  his  own  genius,  and  who  in  the  course 
of  his  long  life,  passed  largely  at  the  court  or  in  camps, 
came  to  know  intimately  most  of  the  great  figures  in 
the  social,  military  and  political  life  of  his  country. 
Ambroise  Pare  was  more  than  a  great  surgeon;  his  rep- 
utation for  honesty  and  sagacity  was  such,  that  he  be- 
came the  confidant  and  counsellor  to  many  of  the  cour- 
tiers and  soldiers  with  whom  he  came  in  daily  contact. 
As  the  Due  de  Savoi  said  of  him,  "he  knew  other  things 
than  surgery."  His  kindly,  genial  nature  coupled  with 
his  good  sense,  make  it  easy  to  comprehend  how  popu- 
lar he  was  in  surroundings  where  feelings  of  mutual 
distrust  and  hatred  predominated.  In  an  age  when  re- 
ligious hatred  was  at  the  reddest  heat,  we  find  him  at- 
tending Coligny  for  his  wound  and  a  few  hours  later  ** 
being  sheltered  by  the  King,  who  had  ordained  or  at  least 
connived  in  the  massacre  of  Coligny  and  his  friends. 
Although  frequently  accused  of  Huguenotism,  he  was 
surgeon  successively  to  Henri  II,  Francois  II,  Charles     " 


4  AMBROISE  PARE 

IX,  and  Henri  III,  and  the  Queen  mother,  Catherine 
de  Medici,  was  not  only  his  patient  but  his  friend. 

There  is  a  voluminous  literature  available  on  the 
life  and  labors  of  Ambroise  Pare.  First  we  have  his 
own  writings,  especially  the  "Apologie  et  Traite  Con- 
tenant  les  Voyages  Faits  en  Divers  Lieux,"  which  he 
wrote  in  1585,  five  years  before  his  death.  Scattered 
throughout  his  other  writings  are  many  autobiographic 
details. 

In  1840  Malgaigne  published  his  splendid  edition 
of  Fare's  complete  works,  prefaced  by  a  resume  of  the 
history  of  surgery  and  a  life  of  Pare.  For  facts  un- 
earthed since  Malgaigne's  time,  based  on  documents  not 
available  to  him,  Le  Pauhnier's  "Ambroise  Pare  d'ap- 
res  de  Nouveaux  Documents  decouverts  aux  Archives 
Rationales  et  des  papiers  de  famille,"  published  in  1884, 
is  invaluable.  Dr.  Le  Paulmier  has  collected  a  large 
number  of  legal  documents,  processes,  and  other  papers, 
which  clear  up  many  points  hitherto  obscure  in  Fare's 
life.  There  are  also  innumerable  addresses,  discourses, 
and  essays  on  Ambroise  Pare,  none  of  them,  however, 
presenting  any  evidence  of  original  research  on  the  part 
of  their  authors.  Le  Paulmier  discredits  the  publica- 
tions of  Begin,  which  the  latter  claimed  were  based  on 
an  unpublished  journal  of  Pare.  As  Begin  never  ex- 
hibited this  journal  nor  published  satisfactory  proofs 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  S 

of  its  authenticity,  I  think  Le  Paulmier's  doubts  were 
justified. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  there 
was  a  great  revival  of  interest  in  the  history  of  Pare 
among  his  countrymen,  probably  because  of  the  inter- 
est in  military  surgery  awakened  by  the  Napoleonic 
wars.  Much  was  written  about  him,  but  very  little  pos- 
sessed historic  value. 

For  those  who  do  not  read  French,  the  translation 
of  Fare's  works  entitled,  "The  Works  of  the  Famous 
Chirurgien  Ambroise  Pare,  translated  out  of  Latin  and 
compared  with  the  French,  by  T.  Johnson,"  first  pub- 
lished in  1634,  and  subsequently  in  1649,  1665,  and 
1678,  is  contained  in  most  large  medical  libraries,  and 
copies  are  comparatively  easy  to  obtain.  Malgaigne 
directs  attention  to  the  fact  that  at  the  end  of  the  adver- 
tisement announcing  his  book  Johnson  says,  "An 
Apologie  and  Voyages,  being  not  in  the  Latine,  but 
translated  out  of  the  last  French  edition,  whom  also  I 
have  followed  in  the  number  of  the  Books,  least  any 
should  think  some  wanting,  finding  but  twenty-six  in 
the  Latin,  and  twenty-nine  in  the  French."  In  1897 
Stephen  Paget  published  his  delightful  book  "Ambroise 
Pare  and  His  Times,"  in  which  he  reprints  the  most 
interesting  portions  of  the  "Journeys  in  Divers  Places," 
adding  historical  and  biographical  details,  in  such  a  way 
as  to  make  a  most  excellent  life  of  Pare. 


6  AMBROISE  PARE 

For  contemporary  sidelights  on  the  life  and  times  of 
Pare  the  "Memoirs  -  Journaux"  of  Pierre  de  L'Es- 
toile  are  invaluable.  A  complete  edition  of  this  inter- 
esting book  was  published  at  Paris  in  1875.  There  is 
also  the  "Journal  d'un  Bourgeois  de  Paris  sous  le  Regne 
de  Fran9ois  I,"  which  is  available  in  an  edition  pub- 
lished by  Picard  at  Paris  in  1910.  These  two  books 
are  mines  of  information  on  the  j^ears  they  cover. 

From  what  we  have  gleaned  concerning  Pare,  from 
his  own  writings  and  from  the  writings  of  his  contem- 
poraries, we  are  able  to  form  what  is  probably  as  cor- 
rect a  mental  portrait  of  the  great  surgeon  as  is  possible 
at  a  distance  of  over  three  hundred  years.  Of  his  physi- 
cal characteristics  we  know  but  little,  save  that  he  must 
have  been  of  robust  physique  to  endure  the  continuous 
hard  labor  which  he  sustained  for  so  many  years,  up  to 
within  a  short  time  before  his  death,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty.  Not  only  did  he  attend  to  the  harass- 
ing duties  of  an  enormous  practice  but  he  also  was 
a  voluminous  writer  and  found  time  for  much  scien- 
tific study  and  research.  His  labors  were  but  little  in- 
terfered with  by  illness,  his  most  serious  complaint  hav- 
ing been  the  fractured  leg  which  he  sustained  by  the 
kick  of  a  horse.  He  was  bitten  by  a  viper  but,  as  he 
tells  us,  without  \serious  consequences,  because  of  the 
prompt  treatment  he  administered  himself.  An  at- 
tack of  plague  was  his  only  grave  medical  illness  and 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  7 

from  it  he  recovered  with  nothing  more  serious  than  a 
large  scar  left  by  a  sore. 

His  writings  speak  for  the  verve  and  esprit  of  his 
mind.  He  was  a  Frenchman,  a  Frenchman  writing 
scientific  works  with  a  logical  incisiveness  and  art  which 
make  their  perusal  a  pleasurable  as  well  as  a  profitable 
pursuit.  The  relations  of  his  discoveries  and  experi- 
ences are  all  narrated  in  the  simplest  language  and  bear 
the  imprint  of  exact  observation  and  truthful  explica- 
tion. Pare  loved  a  good  story  and  his  works  are  full 
of  them.  He  loved  his  fellowmen  with  a  broad,  gentle 
humanity  and  liked  to  foregather  with  them.  From  the 
references  to  good  living  which  he  lets  fall  from  his  pen 
he  was  probably  of  a  convivial  turn  but  there  is  cer- 
tainly no  reason  to  believe  that  this  genial  spirit  ever 
led  him  to  excesses. 

Although  disputes  have  raged  as  to  whether  he  was 
a  Catholic  or  Protestant,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  his 
sincere  piety.  In  all  his  writings  there  are  constant 
references  to  God  and  one  of  his  most  quoted  sayings 
is  that  in  which  he  attributes  the  recovery  of  his  patients 
to  a  divine  providence. 

His  benevolence  and  charity  are  shown  under  many 
different  circumstances,  to  his  relations,  to  his  friends, 
to  his  patients  of  all  classes,  but  especially  to  the 
poor  common  soldiers,  who  on  many  occasions  showed 
their  appreciation  of  it.    Contrast  the  kindly  irony  with 


8  AMBROISE  PARE 

which  he  attacks  "mon  petit  maitre"  Gourmelen,  after 
the  latter  had  assailed  him  in  the  bitterest  fashion,  with 
the  invectives  hurled  by  others  at  the  heads  of  those 
who  differed  from  them  on  scientific  or  other  matters. 

Pare  accumulated  a  large  estate.  He  o^vned  a 
group  of  houses  near  the  Pont  St.  Michael  and  a  vine- 
yard at  Meudon,  in  addition  to  much  personal  prop- 
erty. He  made  generous  use  of  it,  aiding  his  own  poor 
relatives  and  the  relatives  of  his  wife,  and  giving  aid 
to  many  who  had  no  such  claim  upon  him. 

At  a  time  when  political  or  religious  antagonism 
led  to  personal  attacks  against  any  adversary,  and  when 
the  vilest  libels  were  circulated  about  any  prominent 
personage  who  had  incurred  enmity  on  account  of  his 
actions  or  opinions  it  is  an  added  testimony  to  the 
worth  of  Pare's  character  that  the  only  attacks  made 
upon  him  were  due  to  professional  jealousy.  Though 
inspired  by  the  blackest  malice,  the  authors  of  these 
maledictions  could  find  no  reproach  with  which  to 
blacken  the  personal  character  of  the  high-souled  man 
who  was  the  object  of  their  hatred. 

Sully,  the  great  prime  minister  of  Henri  IV,  refers 
to  Pare  in  his  memoirs,  and  the  two  men  were  probably 
thrown  together  at  various  times  in  the  course  of  the 
long  periods  which  both  passed  in  connection  with  the 
court.  In  the  preface  to  his  "Chronique  du  Regne  de 
Charles  IX,"  Prosper  Merimee  says  it  is  not  in  Mez- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  9 

eray,  but  in  Montluc,  Brantome,  d'Aubigne,  Tavannes, 
La  Noue,  etc.,  that  one  forms  an  idea  of  the  French- 
man of  the  sixteenth  centurj^  To  these  names  he  might 
well  have  added  that  of  Pare, 


Foot  soldier  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
{Lacroia.) 


CHAPTER  II 

MBROISE  PARE  was  born  at  Bourg 
Hersent,  a  little  village  which  now  forms 
part  of  the  citj''  of  Laval,  in  the  old  prov- 
ince of  Maine.  No  trace  of  Pare  or  of 
his  family  now  remains  there.  In  1840  a  bronze 
statue  of  Pare  by  David  was  erected  in  Laval  by 
public  subscription.  At  that  time  the  statement  was 
made  that  a  house,  still  standing,  bore  an  inscrip- 
tion stating  that  Pare  was  born  within  it.  The  year 
of  his  birth  has  been  the  subject  of  much  dispute.  Mal- 
gaigne,  after  a  careful  consideration  of  all  the  facts 
available  to  him,  was  inclined  to  place  it  in  1517,  but 
Le  Paulmier  proves,  I  believe  conclusively,  that  he  was 
born  in  1510.  This  assertion  is  based  partly  on  the  in- 
ternal evidence  of  certain  passages  in  his  writings, 
partly  on  the  dates  borne  on  authentic  portraits,  and 
lastly  on  the  distinct  assertion  of  Pierre  L'Estoile,  who 
wrote,  "Thursday,  twentieth  of  December  1590,  the  eve 
of  Saint  Thomas,  died  at  Paris  in  his  own  house.  Master 
Ambroise  Pare,  surgeon  to  the  King,  aged  eighty  years, 
a  learned  man  and  the  chief  of  his  art." 

His  father  was,  according  to  some,  a  cabinet-maker, 

10 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  n 

but  others,  on  probably  better  traditional  evidence,  state 
that  he  was  valet  de  chambre  and  barber  to  the  Sieur 
de  Laval.  Several  of  his  near  relatives  were  in  medical 
occupations.  Thus  his  sister  Catherine  married  Gas- 
pard  Martin,  a  master  barber-surgeon  of  Paris.  He 
died  following  an  amputation  of  the  leg  performed  upon 
him  by  Pare.  In  a  pamphlet  written  by  a  surgeon 
named  Comperat,  Pare  was  accused  of  having  been 
more  or  less  responsible  for  his  brother-in-law's  death, 
because  he  had  used  the  method  of  ligation  of  the  vessels 
to  check  the  hemorrhage  at  the  operation,  instead  of 
cauterizing  the  stump. 

A  brother,  Jean,  whom  Pare  greatly  praises  for  his 
skill  in  detecting  the  frauds  of  beggars  who  shammed 
diseases  and  deformities,  was  a  master  barber-surgeon 
at  Vitre,  and  Pare  is  supposed  to  have  studied  with 
him  at  any  rate  for  a  time. 

He  had  another  brother,  also  named  Jean,  who  was 
a  cabinet-maker  in  Paris.  Pare  adopted  his  daughter 
Jeanne,  giving  her  a  handsome  dot  when  she  married 
Claude  Viart,  a  surgeon  of  Paris,  who  had  lived  twenty 
years  in  Pare's  house  as  his  pupil. 

There  is  ver>^  little  reliable  information  regarding 
Pare's  early  years.  According  to  one  of  the  traditions 
given  by  Percy,  Pare's  father  put  him  to  board  with  a 
chaplain  in  order  that  he  might  learn  Latin.  The 
priest,  however,  made  Ambroise  perform  menial  tasks 


12  AMBROISE  PARE 

in  his  garden  and  stable,  troubling  himself  but  little 
about  his  education.  On  leaving  this  ecclesiastical 
fraud  Pare  was  apprenticed,  the  report  runs,  to  a  sur- 
geon of  Laval  named  Vialot,  who  taught  him  the  art 
of  bleeding.  While  with  Vialot,  the  story  goes,  Law- 
rence Colot  came  to  Laval  to  perform  a  lithotomy. 
Pare  assisted  at  the  operation  and  was  so  thrilled  with 
enthusiasm  that  he  determined  to  go  at  once  to  Paris 
and  study  surgery  under  the  best  masters  obtainable. 
Malgaigne  knocks  out  this  pretty  legend,  however,  by 
showing  that  Colot  was  taught  the  art  of  operating  for 
stone  by  Ottaviano  da  Villa,  an  itinerant  lithotomist, 
who  had  learned  the  method  of  operating  by  the  "Grand 
Appareil"  from  Mariano  Sancto,  and  did  not  impart  it 
to  Colot  until  after  Mariano's  death  which  did  not  oc- 
cur until  1543.  It  is  improbable  that  Colot  would  in 
1530  have  been  called  to  operate  anywhere,  and  he  cer- 
tainly at  that  time  knew  nothing  about  the  operation 
by  which  he  was  subsequently  to  attain  such  fame. 

All  that  we  know  definitely  about  Pare  during  this 
period  may  be  gathered  from  a  few  statements  of  his 
own,  which  have  been  interpreted  as  indicating  that  he 
began  the  study  of  surgery  first  at  Angers,  or  possibly 
at  Vitre  with  his  brother  Jean.  In  his  book  on  "Mon- 
sters" Pare  tells  of  seeing  at  Angers  in  1525  a  beggar 
who  was  at  the  door  of  the  "temple,"  as  Huguenot 
chapels  were  then  called,  seeking  alms  because  of  a  sup- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  13 

posedly  diseased  arm  which  he  exposed  to  the  view  of  the 
passers-by.  In  reality  the  impostor  had  cut  an  arm  from 
a  man  who  had  been  recently  executed  and,  hanging 
it  around  his  neck  so  that  it  projected  from  under  his 
cloak,  had  made  it  appear  that  the  decomposing  mem- 
ber was  one  of  his  own.  Unfortunately  for  him  it  be- 
came detached  and  fell  to  the  ground,  and  when  he 
tried  to  pick  it  up  he  was  seen  to  have  two  good  arms 
of  his  own.  He  was  taken  before  a  magistrate  who  had 
him  publicly  whipped,  with  the  criminal's  arm  hang- 
ing around  his  neck,  and  then  banished  from  the  town. 

In  the  same  book  of  "Monsters"  Pare  tells  how  he 
saw  his  brother,  Jean,  "a  surgeon  dwelling  in  Vitre," 
detect  a  beggar  woman,  who  stood  "at  the  door  of  the 
temple  one  Sunday,"  feigning  that  she  had  a  cancer 
of  the  breast  by  exposing  to  public  view  what  seemed 
to  be  a  hideous  sore.  Jean  Pare  observed  her  carefully 
and,  noting  that  she  was  fat  and  well-nourished,  with 
a  healthy  color,  had  her  taken  before  a  magistrate,  who 
in  turn  sent  her  with  Pare's  brother  to  his  office  for  a 
thorough  examination.  He  found  that  she  had  a 
sponge  under  her  armpit  soaked  in  some  animal's  blood 
mixed  with  milk.  When  she  squeezed  the  sponge  the 
mixture  was  conducted  by  a  small  tube  over  her  breast. 
She  also  was  whipped  for  her  wickedness. 

One  year  later  Ambroise  saw,  as  he  tells  us  in  his 
"Monsters,"  his  brother  Jean  once  more  display  his 


14  AMBROISE  PARE 

skill  as  a  detector  of  such  impostors.  This  time  the 
beggar  counterfeited  leprosy  at  the  door  of  a  "temple." 
Suspecting  the  man  to  be  an  impostor  he  took  him  be- 
fore a  magistrate,  who  sent  him  to  his  house  for  a  more 
thorough  examination.  When  the  imposture  was  there- 
by proved,  the  beggar  was  whipped.  The  spectators, 
evidently  aware  of  the  anesthesia  which  accompanies 
certain  forms  of  leprosy,  yelled  to  the  executioner  to 
whip  him  hard,  saying,  "He  does  not  feel  it,  he  is  a 
leper."  Thus  encouraged  the  executioner  went  at  his 
work  with  such  vigor  that  the  beggar  died  as  the  result 
of  the  whipping. 

The  three  references  to  the  "temple"  in  the  above 
stories  have  been  taken  as  evidence  that  Pare,  at  any 
rate  during  one  period  of  his  life,  was  a  Huguenot. 

Le  Paulmier  conjectures  that  the  year  which 
elapsed  between  the  two  detections  which  he  states  he 
saw  his  brother  make  was  passed  by  Ambroise  at  Vitre 
studying  with  Jean.  Although  this  brother  Jean  is 
generally  spoken  of  as  a  "barber-surgeon,"  it  should  be 
noticed  that  Pare  speaks  of  him  distinctly  as  a  "sur- 
geon." It  is  presumed  that  Pare's  master  in  the  prov- 
inces was  a  barber-surgeon  because  in  the  address  to  the 
readers  of  his  anatomy,  published  in  1552,  he  distinctly 
states  that  he  knew  neither  Greek  nor  Latin,  as  would 
have  been  required  of  a  surgeon.     When  he  came  to 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  15 

Paris  in  1532  or  1533  he  was  certainly  apprenticed  to 
a  barber-surgeon. 

When  Pare  came  to  Paris  the  medical  profession 
of  that  city  was  sharply  divided  into  three  classes. 
First  came  the  physicians,  members  of  the  Faculte  de 
INIedecine  who  held  their  heads  very  high.  They  arro- 
gated to  themselves  the  right  of  control  over  all  who 
attempted  to  practice  the  healing  art  in  any  of  its 
branches.  The  second  class  was  composed  of  the  sur- 
geons, incorporated  in  the  Confrerie  de  Saint  Come, 
and  ordinarily  termed  surgeons  of  the  long  robe  because 
of  the  garment  they  were  authorized  to  wear.  The 
community  of  the  barber-surgeons  held  third  place. 
Malgaigne  gives  in  his  introduction  to  Fare's  works 
a  long  and  learned  account  of  the  controversies  which 
raged  for  generations  between  these  three  bodies. 

The  surgeons  were  ground  between  the  upper  and 
the  nether  millstone,  the  physicians  constantly  check- 
ing them  in  any  attempt  to  practice  medicine  and  the 
barber-surgeons  frequently  encroaching  on  the  field  of 
surgical  practice.  The  surgeons  of  the  long  robe  would 
not  condescend  to  operate.  They  confined  themselves 
to  the  treatment  of  surgical  conditions  by  the  applica- 
tion of  plasters  and  ointments,  the  use  of  the  cautery, 
and  the  treatment  of  wounds  and  abscesses.  The  barber- 
surgeons  practiced  venesection,  cupping  and  leeching, 
and  were  constantly  extending  their  field  by  attempting 


i6  AMBROISE  PARE 

operaiions,  dressing  wounds,  etc.  There  were  sev- 
eral groups  of  empirical  practitioners  who  did  much 
real  surgery.  Thus  the  "incisors"  cut  for  stone  and  oper- 
ated for  hernia.  They  were  tolerated  rather  than  au- 
thorized to  practice.  In  many  instances  they  were  very 
skillful  as  well  as  daring.  At  a  later  period  we  find 
in  this  class  the  two  celebrated  monks,  Frere  Jacques 
and  Frere  Come,  who  were  most  expert  lithotomists. 
Others  in  this  group  operated  for  cataract.  The  treat- 
ment of  fractures  and  dislocations  was  largely  in  the 
hands  of  the  "rabouteurs"  or  bonesetters.  All  these 
empirics  were  peripatetics,  wandering  from  city  to  city, 
generally  having  to  leave  each  place  after  a  time  be- 
cause of  the  jealousy  excited  in  the  regular  faculty  by 
their  skill.  Obstetrics  was  left  in  the  hands  of  mid- 
wives,  some  of  whom  attained  great  renown  for  their 
ability. 

Malgaigne  shows  us  the  facilities  for  learning  pos- 
sessed by  barber-surgeons  at  this  time  and  the  good 
use  they  made  of  their  opportunities,  in  marked  con- 
trast to  the  laziness  and  ineptitude  of  the  surgeons  of 
St.  Come  at  Paris.  While  the  Faculty  of  Medicine 
and  the  surgeons  of  Montpellier  translated  the  works 
of  the  ancients,  Hippocrates,  Galen,  and  Paul  of 
^gina  into  French,  and  published  them  so  that  they 
might  be  available  to  the  barber-surgeons,  men  un- 
learned in  Latin  and  Greek,  the  Faculty  of  Medicine 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  17 

and  the  surgeons  of  Paris  confined  themselves  entirely 
to  Latin  in  such  works  as  they  put  forth. 

From  1534  to  1537,  when  Jean  Tagault  served  as 
dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  of  Paris,  he  was 
charged  with  the  duty  of  reading  the  course  of  lectures 
on  the  works  of  Gui  de  Chauliac,  which  was  the  meager 
surgical  pabulum  afforded  by  the  Faculty  of  Medicine 
to  those  who  studied  surgery  under  its  auspices.  He 
had  already  conceived  the  idea  of  publishing  these  lec- 
tures when  he  was  further  stimulated  to  do  so  by  the 
following  circumstance. 

Francois  I  had  been  led  by  the  frequency  of  the 
wars  in  which  he  was  involved  to  a  realization  of  the 
necessity  for  the  improvement  of  surgery  in  his  realm. 
One  day  as  he  dined  at  Cardinal  du  Bellai's,  having 
behind  him,  according  to  etiquette,  his  three  physicians, 
he  expressed  his  intention  of  establishing  a  course  of 
surgery  in  Paris  to  be  conducted  by  one  or  two  quali- 
fied physicians.  This  intention  was  conveyed  to  Jean 
Tagault  and  he  hastened  to  complete  his  work  in  the 
hope  that  he  might  be  chosen  to  fill  the  new  position. 
But  his  haste  was  in  vain.  His  'Tnstitutiones  Chirur- 
gicales"  was  published  in  1543,  but  in  1542  the  King 
had  already  appointed  Vidus  Vidius,  of  Florence, 
Premier  Medecin  du  Roi  and  lecturer  on  surgery  in 
the  College  de  France.     Malgaigne  explains  the  ap- 


i8  AMBROISE  PARE 

pointment  of  this  foreigner  instead  of  Tagault  as  fol- 
lows: 

Vidus  Vidius  had  a  patron,  Cardinal  Rodolpho, 
who  had  discovered  a  Greek  manuscript  containing  the 
commentaries  of  Galen  on  the  surgical  works  of  Hip- 
pocrates in  much  more  complete  form  than  any  hith- 
erto known.  This  manuscript  had  been  translated  into 
Latin  by  Vidus  Vidius,  who  had  carefully  collated  it 
with  such  other  manuscripts  as  were  accessible  in  Rome, 
and  supplied  commentaries  of  his  own  on  such  works 
of  Hippocrates  as  were  not  commented  upon  by  Galen. 
The  book  was  published  with  a  dedication  to  Fran- 
cois I,  and  the  Cardinal  also  presented  the  original 
Greek  manuscript  to  the  King.  Vidus  Vidius  was, 
therefore,  summoned  to  Paris  to  fill  the  chair,  which  he 
held  from  154I2  to  1547.  On  the  death  of  Francois  I 
he  returned  to  Florence.  Poor  Tagault  had  died  in 
1545. 

The  Latin  works  of  Vidus  Vidius  and  Tagault, 
however  much  they  might  aid  surgery,  were  of  little 
use  to  the  unlettered  barbers  who  were  ignorant  of 
that  tongue.  Nevertheless,  these  barber-surgeons  were 
almost  the  only  practitioners  doing  real  surgery  in 
Paris,  except  the  unauthorized  empirics.  Thus  the 
barbers  were  prosectors  to  the  anatomical  lecturers  of 
the  Faculty  of  Medicine,  thereby  acquiring  some  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  anatomy,  which  they  used  in  dress- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  19 

ing  wounds  and  fractures,  practicing  bleeding  and  per- 
forming many  operations,  while  the  surgeons  of  Saint 
Come,  not  deigning  to  actually  dissect  the  body  and 
standing  aloof  from  all  surgical  procedures  except  the 
application  of  plasters  and  ointments,  had  developed 
into  a  set  of  useless  drones  who  hindered  the  progress 
of  real  surgical  science. 

As  textbooks  Pare  used  the  works  of  Gui  de  Chau- 
liac  and  Jean  de  Vigo,  both  of  which  had  been  trans- 
lated from  Latin  into  French,  especially  for  the  benefit 
of  students  of  surgery.  As  a  barber-surgeon's  appren- 
tice he  had,  no  doubt,  to  perform  many  of  the  tasks 
falling  to  the  lot  of  such  unfortunates,  but  we  have  ab- 
solutely no  authentic  light  on  this  part  of  his  career. 
Probably  the  fact  that  he  does  not  refer  to  it  subse- 
quently was  because  it  was  not  all  beer  and  skittles  and 
left  an  unpleasant  impression  on  his  mind.  There  has 
recently  been  published  a  most  interesting  little  book 
on  the  life  of  the  medical  students  of  the  sixteenth 
century  in  Paris,^  in  which  there  is  a  fascinating  pic- 
ture of  the  turbulent  life  led  by  the  medical  student 
of  that  time,  with  side  glimpses  of  the  barber-surgeons. 
Pare,  however,  did  not  remain  long  in  the  barber's 
shop.  He  very  soon  became,  in  what  manner  or  through 
what  influence  is  not  known,  compagnon  chirurgien  at 

^Les  Etudiants    en  Mddecine  de  Paris  au  XVT  Siecle  Essai  Historique, 
par  le  Docteur  Henri  de  Boyer  de  Choisy. 


20  AMBROISE  PARE 

the  Hotel  Dieu,  a  position  similar  to  a  modern  interne- 
ship  or  resident  surgeoncy.  Until  the  reign  of  Henri 
IV,  the  Hotel  Dieu  was  the  sole  public  hospital  in 
Paris.  Accordingly,  it  admitted  not  only  the  injured 
and  those  sick  of  ordinary  diseases,  but  also  the  sufferers 
who  fell  victims  to  the  various  epidemic  diseases  which 
invaded  Paris  from  time  to  time. 

The  Hotel  Dieu,  founded  in  the  seventh  century 
by  Saint  Landry,  was  under  the  supervision  of  the 
chapter  of  Canons  of  Notre  Dame  in  Pare's  time.  The 
care  of  the  sick  was  in  the  hands  of  a  number  of  lay 
brothers  and  sisters.  One  of  the  lay  bl*others  had  the 
direction  of  the  management  of  the  hospital  with  the 
title  of  Master  of  the  Hotel  Dieu.  In  1505  owing  to 
a  condition  of  disorder  and  neglect  of  the  sick  the  Par- 
liament of  Paris  nominated  a  commission  of  eight  citi- 
zens of  Paris  to  manage  the  temporal  affairs  of  the 
hospital.  About  a  year  after  Pare  terminated  his  resi- 
dency in  the  Hotel  Dieu  a  grand  row  occurred.  Cer- 
tain monks  and  nuns  objected  to  measures  for  the  re- 
form of  the  hospital  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  re 
move  them  from  its  service.  Some  scholars  sided  with 
them  and  were  so  rebellious  that  the  authorities  com- 
mitted them  to  prison. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  ascertain  just  what  were  the 
duties  and  privileges  of  the  students  admitted  to  the 
Hotel  Dieu.     In  1327  Charles  IV  had  ordered  that 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  21 

two  of  the  sworn  surgeons  of  the  Chatelet  should  visit 
the  sick  at  the  Hotel  Dieu  and  had  provided  that  a 
certain  number  of  students  should  be  employed  in  dress- 
ing wounds  and  other  duties. 

Malgaigne  conjectures  that  the  students  treated  the 
sick  and  injured  and  had  the  opportunity  to  perform 
autopsies  and  dissect  cadavers.  When  mentioning  his 
hfe  there,  Pare  certainly  speaks  as  though  he  had  ob- 
tained plenty  of  such  invaluable  experience  during  his 
connection  with  the  hospital.  In  the  occasional  refer- 
ences contained  in  his  works  to  his  residency  we  detect 
the  pleasure  and  pride  with  which  he  looked  upon  it 
in  retrospect.  Pare  left  the  Hotel  Dieu  about  1536 
after  serving  within  it,  he  tells  us  in  one  place,  for  three 
years,  and  in  another,  for  four  years,  and  acquiring  a 
large  fund  of  practical  knowledge. 

It  is  curious  that  Pare  nowhere  in  his  writings 
makes  the  slightest  allusion  by  which  we  can  discover 
the  names  of  any  of  his  teachers  or  masters  during  his 
apprenticeship  or  while  living  at  the  Hotel  Dieu.  What 
renders  this  circumstance  especially  odd  is  the  freedom 
with  which  he  alludes  by  name  to  the  surgeons  and 
physicians  and  even  barber-surgeons,  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact  during  the  rest  of  his  career. 

The  long  life  of  Pare  covers  a  most  interesting  pe- 
riod in  the  history  of  France.  He  was  born  towards 
the  close  of  the  life  of  Louis  XII,  and  his   death 


22  AMBROISE  PARE 

occurred  after  the  death  of  Henri  III,  and  shortly  be- 
fore Henri  IV  was  crowned  King  of  France.  Three 
Crowned  heads  kept  the  European  world  in  a  turmoil 
throughout  a  large  part  of  the  first  half  of  the  six- 
teenth century — Charles  V,  Emperor  of  Germany, 
Henry  VIII,  King  of  England,  and  Fran9ois  I,  King 
of  France — all  coming  to  the  throne  when  young  and 
vigorous,  gifted  with  intellect  and  force  of  character, 
and  imposing  their  personalities  on  the  affairs  and  peo- 
ples of  their  domains.  Fran9ois  I  was  fired  with  am- 
bition to  rule  over  certain  parts  of  Italy,  of  which  he 
claimed  the  inheritance,  and  his  desires  in  this  respect 
brought  him  into  direct  conflict  with  the  Emperor. 
Henry  VIII  allied  himself  first  with  one  and  then  with 
the  other,  on  whichever  side  he  thought  would  best 
serve  his  own  interests. 

Another  source  of  conflict  was  the  claim  of  Charles 
to  the  Duchy  of  Burgundy  and  the  Kingdom  of  Na- 
varre, former  appanages  of  the  French  crown.  After 
many  fruitless  Italian  campaigns  in  which  a  few  bril- 
liant military  successes  only  served  to  involve  the 
French  more  hopelessly  in  the  toils,  came  the  final  dis- 
aster at  Pavia,  February  24,  1525.  A  splendid  French 
army  commanded  by  the  King  in  person  was  over- 
whelmingly defeated  by  the  Imperial  troops  under 
Lannoy  and  Charles  of  Bourbon,  the  former  Constable 
of  France,  who  had  become  a  traitor  and  left  his  coun- 


A  Ward  in  the  Hotel  Diel 
{F)0)>i  a  seventeenth-century  enyraviny.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  23 

try  to  serve  against  it  under  Charles  V.  Ten  thousand 
French  were  slain,  among  them  many  of  the  nobility 
and  numerous  officers  of  high  rank.  The  King  of 
France,  the  King  of  Navarre,  the  Count  of  St.  Pol, 
the  Mareschal  Anne  de  Montmorenci,  and  many  other 
nobles  and  leaders  were  made  prisoners.  The  King 
passed  six  months  of  captivity  in  Spain  before  he  se- 
cured his  release  on  the  most  humiHating  terms,  having 
to  send  two  of  his  sons,  one  of  them  the  future  Henri 
II,  to  take  his  place  as  hostages,  before  he  could  return 
to  his  kingdom.  Once  among  his  subjects  Francois 
declared  that  he  did  not  consider  himself  bound  by  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  which  had  been  agreed  to  while  he 
was  a  prisoner  at  Madrid  because  it  had  been  made 
while  he  was  under  constraint.  War  was  resumed  and 
kept  up  until  1529,  when  the  Peace  of  Cambrai  was 
negotiated  by  Louise  of  Savoy,  mother  of  the  French 
King,  with  the  Archduchess  Marguerite,  the  aunt  of 
the  Emperor,  for  which  reason  it  is  often  known  as  the 
"Paix  aux  Dames." 

The  years  immediately  following  this,  however, 
were  spent  by  Francois  in  cementing  aUiances  and 
strengthening  his  forces  for  another  conflict  with  the 
Emperor.  He  allied  himself  with  Henry  VIII,  and 
in  1534-5  even  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  Turks. 
In  1535  Francisco  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  died  and  the 


24  AMBROISE  PARE 

King  of  France  at  once  put  forth  his  claims  to  the 
Duchy,  sending  an  expedition  into  Italy  to  back  them 
up.  Charles  V  in  return  led  a  large  army  into  Pro- 
vence. Anne  de  Montmorenci  commanded  the  army 
which  defended  France  against  this  invasion.  He  con- 
tented himself  with  retreating  before  the  imperialists, 
devastating  the  country  as  he  went.  The  large  towTis, 
such  as  Marseilles,  were  too  strongly  fortified  and  gar- 
risoned to  be  taken  by  the  Emperor  and  in  consequence 
he  was  compelled  to  retire  with  his  army,  lest  it  should 
starv^e  in  the  wasted  country.  When  the  imperiahsts 
retreated  Anne  de  Montmorenci  carried  the  war  into 
Italy,  passing  the  Alps  after  a  successful  engagement 
at  the  Pas  de  Suze.  After  some  more  or  less  desultory 
fighting  peace  was  declared  in  November,  1537. 

It  was  in  this  campaign  that  Pare  began  his  career 
as  a  military  surgeon,  crossing  the  Alps  with  the  army 
and  finally  sojourning  for  some  time  at  Turin.  Though 
he  had  not  yet  passed  his  examinations  to  be  admitted 
to  the  community  of  the  barber-surgeons  he  went  in 
the  capacity  of  surgeon  to  Mareschal  de  JNIontejan,  col- 
onel-general of  the  French  Infantry.  As  he  did  not 
take  his  examinations  for  admission  as  a  barber-sur- 
geon until  1541,  Le  Paulmier  thinks  that  owing  to  the 
narrowness  of  his  resources  he  went  with  the  army  as 
the  only  means  open  to  him.     He  could  not  legally 


^'rf.\<h'A;^'-irt^/^'<^^---^f,s'.A'f.-^^'-ft'A'V/.-'/>^)w'^-A-'A-'AWj^^^'x^  i^i^i.j.j^.^,_,^,^  j^^,^,  ,^. ^.■^-^,— , 


PARIS     IN     1530 

(After  the  Map  by  Georges  Braun) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  25 

practice  in  Paris  until  he  had  passed  the  barber-sur- 
geons' examination. 

From  now  on  we  know  much  of  his  life  and  per- 
sonality from  his  own  writings,  especially  from  the 
"Apologie  et  Traite  contenant  les  Voyages  faits  en  di- 
vers Lieux,  par  Ambroise  Pare,  de  Laval,  Conseiller 
et  Premier  Chirui'gien  de  Roi,"  published  at  Paris  in 
the  fourth  edition  of  his  collected  works  in  1585,  five 
years  before  his  death.  This  book  was  written  as  an 
answer  to  one  published  in  1580  by  Etienne  Gourmelen, 
in  which  he  attacked  Pare  and  brought  to  bear  all  the 
opinions  of  the  ancients  to  prove  that  his  treatment  of 
wounds  and  his  use  of  the  ligature  in  amputations  was 
wrong. 

This  is  the  book  of  which  we  offer  here  a  new  and 
complete  translation.  Paget  has  given  a  most  delight- 
ful rendering  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of  the 
"Apology,"  but  he  omits  the  first  portion  in  which  Pare 
quotes  from  many  of  the  ancients  to  prove  that  the 
merit  of  his  discovery  lay  not  in  the  use  of  the  ligature 
but  in  its  application  to  amputations.  As  so  many 
persons  continue  to  refer  to  Pare  as  "the  discoverer  of 
the  ligature,"  it  is  well  for  all  to  learn  from  his  own 
writings  that  he  distinctly  disclaims  any  such  title  to 
fame.  The  racy  style  in  which  the  book  is  written  re- 
veals very  little  trace  of  its  author's  advanced  years, 
although  he  occasionally  waxes   somewhat  garrulous 


26  AMBROISE  PARE 

in  Jhis  stories.  He  continually  refers  to  his  opponent  as 
mon  petit  maitre  and  he  garnishes  the  margin  of  his 
pages  with  charming  notes,  many  of  them  exhibiting 
a  naive  vanity  and  a  bonhomie  which  is  most  delightful. 


Cavalryman  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
i^Lacroio!.) 


CHAPTER  III 


OlN  his  very  first  campaign  Pare  made  the 
great  discovery  that  boiling  oil  was  not 
only  of  no  use,  but  actually  hurtful  in 
I  gunshot  wounds.  All  the  authorities  on 
gunshot  wounds  prior  to  this  had  taught  that  they  were 
poisoned,  envenomed  by  the  powder,  and  that  in  order 
to  counteract  the  poison  they  should  be  treated  with 
burning  oil.  The  French  troops  after  a  bloody  fight 
had  captured  the  castle  of  Villaine.  Pare  dressed  the 
wounded  in  the  accepted  fashion  with  boiling  oil,  stat- 
ing that  he  had  read  in  John  of  Vigo  that  gunshot 
wounds  were  venomous  because  of  the  powder  and  must 
be  cauterized  with  boihng  oil  to  destroy  the  poison. 
But,  owing  to  the  great  number  to  be  dressed,  "at 
length  my  oil  lacked  and  I  was  constrained  to  apply 
in  its  place  a  digestive  made  of  yolks  of  eggs,  oil  of 
roses  and  turpentine.  That  night  I  could  not  sleep 
at  my  ease,  fearing  that  by  lack  of  cauterization  I 
would  find  the  wounded  upon  which  I  had  not  used  the 
said  oil  dead  from  the  poison.  I  raised  myself  very 
early  to  visit  them,  when  beyond  my  hope  I  found  those 
to    whom    I   had    applied   the    digestive    medicament 

27 


28  AMBROISE  PARE 

feeling  but  little  pain,  their  wounds  neither  swollen  nor 
inflamed,  and  having  slept  through  the  night.  The 
others  to  whom  I  had  applied  the  boiling  oil  were  fever- 
ish, with  much  pain  and  swelling  about  their  wounds. 
Then  I  determined  never  again  to  burn  thus  so  cruelly 
the  poor  wounded  by  arquebuses." 

A  curious  light  on  the  life  of  the  soldier  of  the  time 
is  given  by  Pare  in  his  narrative  of  this  campaign. 
Seeking  a  stable  in  which  to  put  the  horses  of  his  man 
and  himself,  he  came  upon  the  bodies  of  four  dead  and 
three  wounded  soldiers  lying  against  a  wall.  The 
wounded  were  terribly  disfigured,  unconscious,  and 
their  clothing  yet  burning  from  the  powder.  An  old 
soldier  came  up  and  regarding  them  with  pity  asked 
Pare  if  there  was  anything  he  could  do  for  them.  Pare 
repHed  in  the  negative,  whereupon  the  soldier  pro- 
ceeded to  cut  their  throats  "doucement  et  sans  cholere." 
Watching  the  action  Pare  exclaimed  that  the  seasoned 
veteran  was  a  bad  man.  The  old  soldier  replied  to  the 
young  surgeon  that  he  prayed  to  God  if  he  were  ever 
in  a  similar  case  he  would  find  someone  to  do  the  same 
for  him  rather  than  that  he  should  languish  miserably. 

On  this  journey  Pare  illustrates  the  persistence 
with  which  he  sought  any  information  which  could  be 
of  value  in  his  work.  While  at  Turin  he  met  a  sur- 
geon who  claimed  to  possess  an  invaluable  balm  for 
dressing  wounds  made  by  arquebuses.     Pare  pursued 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  29 

him  for  two  years  with  persuasions  and  gifts  to  ehcit 
his  secret.  Finally  the  surgeon  confided  to  him  that 
his  wonderful  recipe  consisted  of  newborn  puppies 
boiled  in  oil  of  lilies,  mixed  with  earthworms  pre- 
pared with  oil  of  Venice.  He  was  willing  to  derive 
knowledge  from  every  source,  no  matter  how  unlearned 
or  humble  it  might  be.  Having  met  an  old  woman  who 
advised  him  to  apply  raw  onions  and  salt  to  bums,  he 
promptly  tried  the  remedy,  and,  finding  it  useful,  con- 
tinued its  application  in  such  cases.  Throughout  his 
life  he  lost  no  opportunity  thus  to  study  the  methods 
employed  by  empirics,  quacks,  and  laymen,  consider- 
ing no  source  of  information  unworthy  of  his  notice  if 
thereby  he  could  acquire  knowledge  that  might  be  of 
value. 

Pare  often  tells  of  how  his  services  were  sought  on 
every  side  by  the  wounded.  Finally  Monsieur  de  Mon- 
te j  an  fell  ill  of  an  hepatic  flux  which  ultimately  proved 
fatal.  He  sent  for  a  distinguished  physician  of  Milan 
to  come  to  Turin  and  treat  him.  Pare  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity of  working  with  this  learned  doctor,  who  in  his 
turn  was  a  witness  of  the  skill  and  hard  work  of  the 
young  surgeon.  "So  much  so  that  one  day  the  doctor 
said  to  the  Marshal,  'You  have  a  surgeon  youthful  in 
age,  but  old  in  knowledge  and  experience;  regard  him 
well  for  he  will  be  of  service  and  honor.'  But  the  good 


30  AMBROISE  PARE 

man  did  not  know  that  I  had  lived  three  years  at  the 
Hotel  Dieu  de  Paris,  to  heal  the  sick  there."  After 
the  death  of  de  JNIontejan,  the  Mareschal  d'Annebaut, 
who  succeeded  him  in  command  of  the  soldiers,  be- 
sought Pare  to  remain  as  his  surgeon,  but  Pare  refused 
his  offer  and  returned  to  Paris  in  1539,  where  he  studied 
hard,  especially  anatomy,  in  order  that  he  might  be 
admitted  as  a  barber-surgeon.  In  1541,  as  stated  above, 
he  passed  his  examination  and  became  a  master  barber- 
surgeon.  As  Le  Paulmier  shows,  Pare  underwent  two 
examinations  for  his  admission  to  the  Community  of 
the  Barber- Surgeons.  Possibly  he  failed  to  pass  the 
first  time  he  was  examined,  thus  necessitating  the  sec- 
ond examination.  Le  Paulmier  says  that  he  had  his 
first  examination  at  the  end  of  the  year  1540  or  the  com- 
mencement of  1541,  and  he  gives  the  following  extract 
from  the  records  of  the  Faculte  de  Medicine  regarding 
his  second  examination  which  took  place  later  in  1541 : 

"A  Rasoribus  de  novo  examinatis: 

A  duobus  rasoribus  qui  anno  praeterito  examinati 
fuerant,  videlicet,  ab 

Ambrosio  Parre    (sic),       72  sols  6  deniers  parisis. 

Theodorico  de  Heri,  72  sols  6  deniers  parisis." 

The  examinations  for  admission  to  the  Barber- Surgeons 
were  at  that  time  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Faculty  of  Medicine.     This  document  was  unknown 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  31 

to  Malgaigne  who  thought  that  Pare  had  been  received 
into  the  Barber- Surgeons  in  1536. 

Theodore,  or  Thierry  de  Hery,  like  Pare,  had 
studied  at  the  Hotel  Dieu,  and  had  then  accompanied 
the  French  army  as  surgeon  during  the  Italian  cam- 
paign. He  and  Pare  studied  anatomy  together.  Pare 
frequently  refers  to  him  as  a  skilful  surgeon  and  a  good 
man.  In  1552  he  published  a  book  on  the  treatment 
of  venereal  diseases.     He  died  about  1561. 

In  1541  Pare  married  Jeanne  Mazelin,  daughter 
of  Jean  Mazelin,  a  deceased  "valet  chauffe-cire  de  la 
Chancellerie  de  France."  Her  mother,  nee  Jeanne  de 
Prime,  had  remarried  with  one  Etienne  Cleret,  a  mer- 
chant and  bourgeois  of  Paris.  The  witnesses  on  the 
side  of  the  bride  were  the  widow  of  Odo  de  Prime, 
master  barber  surgeon  of  Paris,  and  Mery  de  Prime, 
merchant  and  bourgeois  of  Paris.  Jeanne's  dot  con- 
sisted of  six  hundred  liii'es  tournois,  with  her  Jiahille- 
merits  filleauLv.  Pare^  settled  two  hundred  livres  tour- 
nois  on  the  bride.  On  the  back  of  his  copy  of  his  mar- 
riage contract  Pare  wrote,  "Traite  de  mon  mariage 
premier."^  It  is  curious  to  notice  that  Pare  had  two 
daughters  who  bore  the  name  of  Catherine,  one  by  his 
first  wife,  the  other  by  his  second,  although  the  first 

'This,  with  many  other  invaluable  documents  bearing  on  Pare,  was 
unearthed  by  Le  Paulmier  among  the  archives  of  the  CHateau  de  Paley 
in  the  possession  of  Madame  la  Marquise  Le  Charron.  Her  husband  was 
a  direct  descendant  of  the  great  surgeon  by  his  daughter  Catherine,  the 
child  of  his  second  wife,  who  married  Claude  Hedelin. 


32  AMBROISE  PARE 

Catherine  was  living  when  the  second  was  born.     The 
identity  of  names  has  given  rise  to  some  confusion. 

Pare  and  his  wife  lived  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine 
near  the  end  of  the  Pont  Saint  IMichel  in  the  parish  of 
St.  Andre  des  Arts.  In  the  course  of  his  life  Pare  ac- 
quired quite  a  few  houses  in  this  neighborhood  near 
what  is  now  the  Quai  des  Grand  Augustines  and  he 
also  owned  a  house  and  vineyard  in  INIeudon.  The 
church  of  St.  Andre  des  Arts  and  the  houses  of  Pare 
have  all  disappeared  in  the  course  of  modern  improve- 
ments. Rabelais  was  cure  of  Meudon  at  the  time  when 
Pare  had  his  vineyard  there  and  it  would  be  curious  if 
they  had  not  met,  for  Rabelais  had  studied  medicine 
as  well  as  theology  and  we  owe  to  him  a  translation  of 
some  of  the  works  of  Hippocrates.  However,  as  there 
is  no  reference  made  by  either  of  them  in  his  writings 
to  the  other,  and  as  no  other  evidence  of  any  connection 
between  them  exists,  we  cannot  know  that  they  fore- 
gathered together. 

A  contemporary  of  Pare  with  whom  one  feels  he 
had  much  in  common  was  Montaigne  (1533-1592). 
Montaigne  was  on  intimate  terms  with  many  of  the 
courtiers  and  nobles  of  his  time  and  he  and  Pare  must 
have  had  mutual  acquaintances.  Furthermore  they 
were  both  officers  of  the  court  of  Henri  III,  Pare  being 
his  chief  surgeon,  and  IMontaigne  one  of  the  gentlemen 
of  his  bedchamber.     In  Chapter  xx,  Book  1,  of  Mon- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  33 

taigne's  "Essays"  he  tells  how  pnee  when  he  was  at 
Vitry-le-Fran9ois  he  "happened  to  see  a  man  whom  the 
Bishop  of  Soissons  had  in  confirmation  named  Ger- 
maine,  and  all  the  inhabitants  thereabout  have  knowne 
and  seene  to  be  a  woman-child  until  she  was  two  and 
twentie  years  of  age,  and  called  by  the  name  of  Marie. 
He  was,  when  I  saw  him,  of  good  years,  and  had  a  long 
beard,  and  was  yet  unmarried.  He  saith,  that  upon  a 
time  leaping,  and  straining  himselfe  to  overleape  an- 
other, he  wot  not  how,  but  where  before  he  was  a  woman 
he  suddenly  felt  the  instrument  of  a  man  to  come  out  of 
him;  and  to  this  day  the  maidens  of  that  towne  and 
countrie  have  a  song  in  use,  by  which  they  warne  one 
another,  when  they  are  leaping,  not  be  straine  them- 
selves overmuch,  or  open  their  legs  too  wide,  for  feare 
they  should  be  turned  to  boys,  as  Marie  Germaine 
was."  Pare  in  his  book  on  "Monsters,"  in  the  seventh 
chapter,  says  that  when  he  was  at  Vitry-le-Francois  in 
the  suite  of  King  Charles  IX,  he  also  saw  Marie  Ger- 
maine. He  tells  practically  the  same  story  as  Mon- 
taigne, except  that  the  change  of  sex  occurred,  according 
to  his  informant,  in  the  fifteenth  year.  It  is  possible 
that  both  were  travelling  with  the  Court  at  the  time 
when  this  prodigy  was  seen. 

Again,  Montaigne'  writes  of  a  mountebank  whom 
he  saw  "being  a  child,  that  with  the  bending  and  wind- 

*Essays,  Book  I,  Chapter  xxii,  Florio's  translation. 


34  AMBROISE  PARE 

ing  of  his  necke,  (because  he  had  no  hands)  would 
brandish  a  two-hand-sword,  and  manage  a  Holbard, 
as  nimbly  as  any  man  could  doe  with  his  hands:  he 
would  cast  them  in  the  aire,  then  receive  them  againe, 
he  would  throw  a  Dagger,  and  make  a  whip  to  yarke 
and  lash,  as  cunningly  as  any  Carter  in  France."  And 
in  another  place:  "Not  long  since  in  mine  owne  house, 
I  saw  a  little  man,  who  at  Nantes  was  borne  without 
armes,  and  hath  so  well  fashioned  his  feet  to  those  serv- 
ices, his  hands  should  have  done  him,  that  in  truth  they 
have  almost  forgotten  their  natural  office.  In  all  his 
discourses  he  nameth  them  his  hands,  he  carveth  any 
meat,  he  chargeth  and  shoots  off  a  pistole,  he  threads 
a  needle,  he  soweth,  he  writeth,  puts  off  his  cap,  comb- 
eth  his  head,  plaieth  at  cards  and  dice;  shuffleth  them 
and  handleth  them  with  a  great  dexteritie  as  any  other 
man  that  hath  the  perfect  use  of  his  hands:  the  monie 
I  have  sometimes  given  him,  he  hath  carried  away  with 
his  feet,  as  well  as  any  other  could  doe  with  his  hands." 

In  the  1573  edition  of  his  works,  Pare  writes  in  his 
book  on  "Monsters"  of  seeing  when  in  Paris  a  man, 
about  forty  years  old,  who  had  no  arms,  yet  was  able 
to  crack  a  whip  by  means  of  his  shoulder  and  neck  and 
could  play  cards  or  throw  dice  with  his  feet.  He  men- 
tions that  he  eventually  turned  out  to  be  a  thief  and  a 
murderer,  who  was  hanged  and  broken  on  the  wheel. 

This  may  have  been  the  man  seen  by  Montaigne 


^^,^52^333  e:r:^^ 


FiGURK  OF  A  Man  Without  Arms. 
(Par^,  Edition  1585.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  37 

for  the  descriptions  of  the  feats  these  men  performed 
are  very  similar.  Apparently  there  were  a  number 
of  such  prodigies,  however,  because  Malgaigne  shows 
that  Rueff  in  his  book  "De  Conceptu  et  Generatione," 
published  in  1554,  describes  one,  and  Lycosthenes  in 
1557  copied  Rueff's  picture  and  added  to  it  the  hatchet 
and  whip.  Lycosthenes  refers  his  case  to  the  year  1528. 
Pierre  I'Estoile  saw  such  a  man  in  Paris  on  February 
10, 1586.  He  says  this  man  was  a  native  of  Nantes,  and 
was  about  forty  years  old. 

The  only  incident  Pare  records  of  his  life  at  Meu- 
don  is  in  Chapter  xix  of  his  "Monsters."  In  this  place 
he  mentions  that  he  had  ordered  some  large  stones 
broken  up,  and  in  the  middle  of  one  of  them  was  found 
a  big  live  frog.  As  Pare  found  no  opening  in  the 
stone,  he  regarded  this  as  a  proof  of  the  possibility  of 
spontaneous  generation.  The  incident  may  be  re- 
garded as  indicative  of  an  interest  in  his  little  country 
place.  We  may  imagine  Pare  seeking  rest  from  his 
arduous  work  in  the  pleasures  of  country  life  on  the 
property  which  he  had  been  able  to  purchase  by  his 
life  of  self-sacrificing  labor. 

Le  Paulmier  gives  a  small  map  of  the  territory  near 
the  end  of  the  Pont  Saint  Michel,  showing  the  houses 
which  were  owned  by  Pare,  and  occupied  by  him  or  his 
relatives.  He  acquired  these  one  by  one,  first  purchas- 
ing the  Maison  de  la  Vache  in  1550.     Some  of  these 


38 


AMBROISE  PARE 


properties  were  obtained  by  selling  out  his  brother-in- 
law,  Antoine  Mazelin,  to  secure  payment  of  a  bad  debt. 
Apparently  Pare  bought  in  the  property  to  save  it 
from  other  creditors.    At  any  rate  the  arrangement  by 


B     PiUSttje  dipcndant  de.  utttJ>Iat40nf. 
et  tavaist  w  nct/ilir  a,  la-Mujea^  £ 

C  '  Maison.cU'Jtl/uydcPnnur. 

D    J>lauoiv  de  Paris. 

E     Mnison  cU  JearnU'  JZirif 

F     C>ur  de  III  MuisoO' O. 
I      G    Jtxisett-  dtt  ht/l^ultei. 

B    JHaitcfi'  dtyPeittr 

E    Maistfn.dt:Gi4MH/at>te'paMaat'\. 

L     Chit  de  la- JLzi/on.'H- 
I      H    JVcaJ^n-detTrou  Mores. 


Properties  Owned  by  Pare  near  the  Pont  Saint  Michel. 
(Le  Paulmier.) 

which  Pare  got  possession  was  amicable,  for  Mazehn 
was  godfather  to  one  of  his  children  long  afterward. 

By  Jeanne  Mazelin,  Pare  had  three  children.  On 
July  4<,  1545,  their  son  Fran9ois  was  baptized  at  the 
church  of  St.  Andre  des  Arts.  One  of  his  godfathers 
was  a  physician,  Fran9ois  de  Villeneuve,  the  other  a 
barber,  Loys  Drouet.  His  godmother  was  Jeanne  de 
Prime.     This  child  died  sometime  before  the  5th  of 


JJFE  AND  TIMES  39 

August,  1549,  because  in  signing  a  legal  document  on 
that  date  the  Pares  state  that  they  are  childless. 

Fourteen  years  later  a  second  son,  appropriately 
named  Isaac,  was  bom  to  Pare.  He  was  baptized  on 
August  11,  1559.  His  godfathers  were  Antoine 
Mazelin,  his  uncle,  and  Nicole  Lambert,  ordinary  sur- 
geon to  the  king.  His  godmother  was  Anne  du  Tillet, 
wife  of  Etienne  Lallemant,  conseiller  du  Roy.  This 
child  lived  less  than  one  year,  his  funeral  occurring  on 
August  2,  1560. 

About  a  year  after  the  death  of  this  son  a  daughter 
was  born  who  was  baptized  Catherine,  on  September 
30,  1560.  Her  godfather  was  Gaspard  Martin,  the 
barber-surgeon  who  had  married  Pare's  sister.  One  of 
her  godmothers  was  Catherine  Briou,  wife  of  Loys  de 
Prime,  wine  merchant.  The  other  godmother  was  Mar- 
guerite Cleret,  widow  of  Etienne  Cleret,  and  the  third 
was  Jehanne  de  Prime.  This  daughter  grew  up,  mar- 
ried Francois  Rousselet,  the  brother  of  her  father's 
second  wife,  and  died  September  21,  1616. 

Although  Pare  himself  gives  1543  as  the  date  of  his 
journey  to  Perpignan,  he  is  evidently  in  error  as  the 
siege  of  Perpignan  occurred  in  the  autumn  of  1542 
The  town  was  occupied  by  Spanish  soldiers.  Pare  went 
as  a  surgeon  with  Monsieur  de  Rohan  and  rode  so  hard 
to  reach  his  post  that  he  suffered  an  attack  of  hsema- 
turia.    At  Perpignan  he  displayed  his  astuteness  in  the 


40  AMBROISE  PARE 

case  of  Monsieur  de  Brissac,  Grand  Master  of  the  Ar- 
tillery. De  Brissac  received  an  arquebus  shot  in 
his  shoulder.  Three  or  four  of  the  best  surgeons  of  the 
army  sought  in  vain  to  locate  the  ball.  Pare  was  sum- 
moned to  his  bedside.  He  at  once  made  de  Brissac  as- 
sume the  position  in  which  he  was  at  the  time  he  re- 
ceived the  wound.  Pare  then  after  a  brief  search  lo- 
cated the  ball  and  it  was  easily  removed.  This  nar- 
rative has  appended  to  it  one  of  the  charming  little  mar- 
ginal notes  with  which  Pare  annotated  his  book  and 
which  display  the  naivete  and  simpleness  of  heart  of 
the  author.  Thus  to  the  statement  that  he  made  the 
patient  assume  the  posture  in  which  he  was  wounded, 
Pare  appends  the  note  "addresse  de  I'Auteur."  The 
French  broke  camp  at  Perpignan  and  Pare  returned  to 
Paris. 

In  1543,  Pare  resumed  his  military  career,  again  as 
surgeon  to  Monsieur  de  Rohan  at  Marolles  and  in 
Lower  Brittany.  The  English  had  sent  a  fleet  de- 
signed to  land  in  Brittany,  but  the  French  gathered  in 
such  force  that  they  did  not  attempt  a  landing  but 
sailed  away.  The  French  remained  a  short  time  in 
camp  and  Pare  tells  us  of  the  rough  sports  with  which 
they  whiled  away  the  time.  Monsieur  d'Estampes  got 
the  Bretons  to  come  into  camp  where  they  displayed 
their  dances  and  other  sports.  A  wrestling  match  was 
held   in   which   one   of   the   participants   was   killed; 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  41 

Pare  opened  the  body  of  the  dead  wrestler.  Finally 
Pare  left  the  camp  and  returned  to  Paris.  Monsieur 
de  Laval  gave  him  a  horse  for  his  man  servant  and 
Monsieur  d'Estampes  presented  him  with  a  diamond 
worth  thirty  ecus.  In  1544  he  was  with  the  army  sent 
by  Fran9ois  I  to  victual  Landrecy  but  saw  no  actual 
fighting. 

Le  Paulmier  shows  that  Malgaigne  was  wrong  in 
his  supposition  that  it  was  not  until  after  his  return 
from  Perpignan  that  Pare  had  his  famous  interview 
with  Sylvius.  Le  Paulmier  states  that  it  was  in  1539 
that  Jacobus  Sylvius  (Jacques  Dubois)  professor  of 
medicine  at  Paris  and  memorable  as  the  ardent  sup- 
porter of  Galen  against  the  school  of  anatomists  led 
by  his  former  pupil  Vesalius,  sought  out  the  young 
army  surgeon  who  had  already  achieved  an  honorable 
reputation  and  was  held  in  much  esteem.  Sylvius  asked 
him  to  dine  with  him  and  was  so  much  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  P are's  views  on  the  treatment  of 
arquebus  wounds,  particularly  as  to  placing  the  patient 
in  the  position  in  which  he  was  at  the  time  he  received 
his  wound,  that  he  urged  him  to  pubhsh  them.  The 
young  man  followed  his  advice,  but  it  was  not  until 
1545  that  he  published  his  first  book  entitled,  "La 
methode  de  traicter  les  playes  faictes  par  hacque- 
butes  et  aultres  bastons  a  feu:  et  de  celles  qui  sont 
faictes  par  fleches,  dardz,  et  semblables :  aussi  des  com- 


42  AMBROISE  PARE 

bustions  specialement  faictes  par  le  pouldre  a  canon; 
compose  par  Ambroyse  Pare,  maistre  barbier-chirur- 
gien  a  Paris."  This  book  was  dedicated  to  M.  de  Ro- 
han and  made  the  fame  of  its  author.  It  was  reprinted 
in  1552  and  again  in  1564,  and  subsequently,  with  addi- 
tions based  on  the  author's  experiences  in  later  years, 
was  included  as  part  of  his  surgery  in  his  collected 
works. 

In  1545  Pare  was  with  the  army  at  the  siege  of 
Boulogne,  during  which  the  Due  Francois  de  Guise  re- 
ceived a '  severe  wound.  He  received  the  nickname 
Balafre  from  the  terrible  scar.  Although  most  writers 
state  that  Pare  was  the  surgeon  who  attended  Guise 
on  this  occasion.  Pare  himself  relates  the  story  without 
stating  that  he  had  any  part  in  it.  A  lance  entered  the 
head  of  the  Duke  above  the  right  eye,  passed  down 
through  the  nose  and  emerged  between  the  nucha  and 
the  ear  on  the  opposite  side.  The  iron  head  of  the  lance 
with  a  portion  of  its  wooden  shaft  remained  in  the 
wound.  Pare  states,  "in  such  fashion  that  it  could  not 
be  withdrawn  without  great  violence,  even  with  a  black- 
smith's pinchers."  Malgaigne  believed  that  if  Pare  had 
himself  been  the  surgeon  who  accomplished  the  cure,  he 
certainly  would  have  mentioned  the  fact.  The  belief 
that  it  was  Pare  who  performed  the  operation  and  cure 
is  based  on  the  narrative  of  the  occurrence  given  in  an 
anonymous  "Life  of  Admiral  Coligny,"  published  at 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  43 

Paris  in  1686,  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  after  the 
accident,  in  which  the  author  states  that  Pare,  "sur- 
geon to  the  king,"  withdrew  the  lance  head  with  smith's 
pincers.  Malgaigne  in  transcribing  the  story  as  given 
by  the  anonymous  author  points  out  that  at  that  time 
Pare  was  not  "surgeon  to  the  king"  and  directs  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  Pare  wrote  his  first  account  of  the 
case  in  1552,  and  repeated  it  in  all  the  subsequent  edi- 
tions of  this  book,  and  again  in  his  "Apology"  in  1585, 
without  once  implying  that  he  had  any  professional 
connection  whatever  with  it. 

After  his  return  from  Boulogne,  Pare  resumed  his 
practice  in  Paris  and  also  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  anatomy.  Malgaigne  conjectures  that  he  was  pro- 
sector for  Sylvius.  If  so  it  was  a  curious  conjuncture 
for  the  most  enlightened  and  advanced  surgeon  of  his 
age  to  serve  the  most  conservative  and  unenlightened 
anatomist,  for  Sylvius  was  Galenical  to  the  core,  an- 
nouncing that  if  the  anatomical  discoveries  of  Vesalius 
and  the  other  anatomists  of  his  time  were  true,  the  ana- 
tomical structure  of  man  must  have  altered  since  the 
time  of  Galen.  Be  that  as  it  may,  in  conjunction  with 
his  friend  Thierry  de  Hery,  another  barber-surgeon. 
Pare  dissected  many  bodies  and  in  1549  published  as 
the  result  of  his  labors  a  little  work  on  anatomy.^  There 

*Briefue  coUectJon  de  radministration  anatomique :  avec  la  manifere  de 
conjoindre  les  os:  Et  d'extraire  les  enfans  tant  morts  que  viuans  du 
ventre  de  la  m^re,  lorsque  nature  de  soy  ne  peult  venir  k  son  eflfet. 


44  AMBROISE  PARE 

is  nothing  very  remarkable  about  the  anatomical  por- 
tion of  this  book,  but  that  part  which  dealt  with  obstet- 
rics contained  within  it  the  first  published  reference  to 
the  use  of  podahc  version.  This  little  book  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  germ  of  his  much  larger  and  more  elab- 
orate treatise  on  obstetrics  in  his  book  on  the  genera- 
tion of  man,  which  was  published  in  1573. 

Fran9ois  I  died  in  1547  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Henri  II,  who  proved  a  most  valuable  friend  to 
Pare.  Henri  II  possessed  many  most  attractive  quali- 
ties. Of  robust  health,  fond  of  outdoor  life,  a  great 
horseman  and  a  mighty  hunter,  he  was  hkewise  a  man 
of  keen  intellect  and  judgment  and  during  his  reign 
by  his  wise  choice  of  counsellors  and  by  his  firm,  pru- 
dent management  he  did  much  to  repair  some  of  the 
evils  into  which  France  had  fallen.  His  wife,  Cather- 
ine de  Medici,  and  he  were  married  for  ten  years  be- 
fore they  had  a  child,  then  their  hopes  were  more  than 
realized  for  in  thirteen  years  Catherine  gave  birth  to 
ten  children,  thi-ee  of  whom  lived  to  be  kings  of 
France.^  Henri  and  Catherine's  menage  was  a  curious 
one.     She  appears  to  have  been  devotedly  attached  to 

*Many  curious  stories  have  been  told  to  account  for  the  barrenness  of 
Catherine's  early  married  life,  most  of  them  attributing  its  source  to  im- 
potence on  Henri's  part.  Some  state  it  was  due  to  his  having  a  hypo- 
spadias which  was  cured  by  operation.  His  responsibility  is  negatived  by 
the  fact  that  before  marrying  Catherine  he  had  had  an  illegitimate 
daughter  (Diane  de  France)  by  an  Italian  girl.  It  is  generally  conceded 
that  the  counsels  of  Fernel,  the  court  physician,  led  to  the  happy  result. 
He  is  said  to  have  advised  the  royal  pair  to  have  connection  during 
Catherine's  menstrual  periods. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  45 

him,  and  he  in  turn  always  treated  her  in  public  with 
apparent  affection  and  esteem ;  but  the  King's  love  was 
really  bestowed  on  Diane  de  Poitiers,  and  she  probably 
had  more  influence  over  him  than  any  other  person. 
She  was  nineteen  years  older  than  Henri,  a  widow  with 
two  children,  who  had  been  on  intimate  relations  with 
his  own  father.  Some  have  tried  to  prove  that  their 
relations  were  purely  platonic,  but  it  is  hard  to  believe 
this  in  view  of  the  loverlike  gallantry  with  which  Henri 
treated  her. 

In  1552  Pare  republished  his  book  on  wounds  made 
by  arquebuses,  dedicating  this  edition  to  King  Henri 
II,  at  the  suggestion  of  Monsieur  de  Rohan  to  whom 
the  first  had  been  dedicated.  In  the  same  year  (1552) 
Pare  made  his  "Journey  to  Germany,"  once  more  ac- 
companying ^lonsieur  de  Rohan.  During  the  trip  he 
had  occasion  to  display  the  genuine  kindness  of  his  heart 
in  the  performance  of  an  act  of  charity  which  won  him 
the  love  of  the  private  soldiers,  men  whom  the  cruelty 
of  the  warfare  of  that  time  had  Httle  accustomed  to 
acts  of  that  nature.  After  one  of  the  humble  soldiers 
had  been  terribly  wounded,  his  comrades  dug  a  ditch 
in  which  it  was  proposed  to  bury  him  before  they  re- 
sumed their  march  in  order  to  save  him  from  the  sav- 
agery of  the  peasants,  whose  just  hatred  of  the  soldiers 
for  the  devastation  of  their  lands  led  them  to  perpetrate 
barbarous  brutahties  on  such  fighting  men  as  fell  into 


46  AMBROISE  PARE 

their  hands.  Therefore  the  soldiers,  like  the  old  soldier 
whom  Pare  tells  us  cut  the  throats  of  three  wounded 
comrades  on  his  campaign  in  1537,  were  wont  to  put 
one  pother  out  of  misery  rather  than  be  captured  alive. 
Pare  persuaded  them  to  take  the  wounded  man  along 
on  one  of  the  army  wagons.  He  himself  performed  for 
him  the  "offices  of  physician,  apothecary,  surgeon 
and  cook"  and  finally  cured  him  of  his  wounds.  To 
this  narrative  Pare  in  all  naivete  appends  the  note 
"Charite  de  I'Auteur."  The  soldiers  appreciated  his 
charity  so  greatly  that  at  the  first  opportunity  each 
man-at-arms  gave  him  an  ecu  and  each  archer  a  demi- 
ecu. 

Returning  from  this  campaign  in  Germany  in  1552, 
at  the  siege  of  DanviUiers,  Pare  amputated  an  officer's 
leg  by  his  new  method,  using  the  Hgature  instead  of 
hot  irons  to  check  the  hemorrhage.  "I  dressed  him  and 
God  healed  him.  He  returned  home  gaily  with  a 
wooden  leg,  saying  that  he  had  got  off  cheaply  without 
being  miserably  burned^  to  staunch  the  bleeding,  as  you 
write  in  your  book,  mon  petit  maistre"  Malgaigne 
notes  that  only  a  short  time  before,  in  the  second  edi- 
tion ^^  (1552)  of  his  book  on  wounds.  Pare  had  still  ad- 
hered to  the  use  of  the  cautery  to  stop  hemorrhage  after 

*•  La  Maniere  de  Traicter  les  playes  faites  tant  par  hacjuebutes  que  par 
fleches:  et  les  accidentz  d'icelles,  conune  fractures  et  caries  des  os,  gangrene 
et  mortification:  avec  pourtraictz  des  instrumentz  necessaires  pour  leur 
curation.  Et  la  methode  de  curer  les  combustions  principalement  faites 
par  la  pouldre  k  canon.    Paris,  1552. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  47 

amputation.  But  he  had  discussed  with  Etienne  de  la 
Riviere  and  Francois  Rasse,  two  of  the  surgeons  of 
Saint  Come,  the  question  as  to  whether  the  ligature, 
apphcable  to  other  forms  of  hemorrhage,  could  not  be 
used  just  as  well  in  amputation  wounds.  They  all 
agreed  that  it  was  worth  trying  and  here  at  the  first 
opportunity  which  offered  Pare  tried  it,  with  success. 
In  his  "Dix  Livres  de  La  Chirugie,"  1564,  Pare  first 
published  his  method  of  ligating  the  vessels  in  ampu- 
tations, stating  candidly  that  in  doing  so  he  entirely 
ignored  the  method  of  stopping  bleeding  by  cauteriza- 
tion which  he  had  recommended  in  his  book,  published 
in  1552.  He  advises  his  reader  in  1564  to  forego  the 
use  of  the  cautery  altogether. 

His  fame  had  reached  the  ears  of  Antoine  de  Bour- 
bon, Monsieur  de  Vendome,  who  was  later  King  of 
Navarre,  and  he  sent  for  Pare  and  asked  him  to  go 
with  him  as  surgeon  on  an  expedition  he  was  leading 
into  Picardy.  Pare  sought  to  be  excused,  alleging  that 
his  wife  was  ill  and  required  his  presence  in  Paris.  But 
Monsieur  de  Vendome  insisted,  stating  that  he  had  left 
his  wife,  who  was  of  as  good  a  house  as  Pare's,  and  that 
there  were  other  doctors  in  Paris  besides  her  husband  to 
treat  her.  Pare  yielded  and  went  on  the  campaign.  He 
won  the  confidence  and  affection  of  Monsieur  de  Ven- 
dome to  such  an  extent  that  he  brought  Pare  to  the  at- 
tention of  King  Henri  II.    The  King  was  so  impressed 


48  AMBROISE  PARE 

that  he  took  Pare  into  his  own  service,  appointing  him 
one  of  his  surgeons  in  ordinary. 

Fare's  account  of  his  experiences  at  the  siege  of 
Metz  in  1552  is  one  of  the  most  graphic  of  his  relations. 
The  Emperor  Charles  V  laid  siege  to  Metz  in  the  late 
autimin  of  1552.  The  Due  de  Guise,  d'Enghien, 
Conde,  and  many  other  nobles  were  in  the  city  and 
determined  to  hold  out  to  all  extremities.  There  was 
great  mortality  among  the  wounded  in  the  town  and 
Guise  sent  word  to  the  King  requesting  him  to  send 
Ambroise  Pare  with  a  fresh  supply  of  drugs  for  him 
as  he  feared  those  they  had  were  poisoned.  Pare  states 
that  he  does  not  believe  the  drugs  were  poisoned  but 
that  the  wounded  died  because  of  the  severity  of  their 
wounds  and  the  extreme  cold  of  the  weather.  The 
King  arranged  to  have  Pare  smuggled  through  the  ene- 
mies' lines  by  an  Itahan  captain  who  got  1500  ecus  for 
convoying  him.  Pare  arrived  within  the  walls  of  Metz 
at  midnight.  He  was  taken  to  the  bedside  of  the  Due 
de  Guise  who  greeted  him  warmly.  The  very  next 
morning  Pare  set  to  work.  After  he  had  brought  the 
greetings  of  the  King  to  the  various  nobles  and  gentle- 
men who  were  so  bravely  defending  the  city  and  had 
distributed  his  load  of  drugs  to  the  surgeons  and 
apothecaries,  he  fell  to  dressing  the  wounded  who  kept 
sending  for  him  from  all  quarters.  He  set  one  seigneur's 
leg,  which  had  been  broken  by  a  cannon  shot  four 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  49 

days  before,  and  treated  only  by  a  man  who  used  cer- 
tain spells  and  did  not  reduce  the  fracture.  Another 
gentleman  whom  he  treated  had  been  unconscious  four- 
teen days,  after  having  been  hit  on  the  head  by  a  stone 
cannon  ball.  The  patient  had  vomited  and  bled  from 
the  nose,  mouth  and  ears,  and  had  convulsive  tremors. 
He  was  trephined.  Pare  modestly  concludes  his  history 
of  the  case,  'T  dressed  him  with  other  surgeons,  and 
God  healed  him;  and  to-day  he  is  yet  living,  thank 
God."  Read  in  his  story  the  many  picturesque  de- 
tails of  the  siege,  the  desperate  straits  to  which  both 
besiegers  and  besieged  were  reduced,  and  the  fierce 
fighting.  Finally  the  plague  began  to  ravage  the  Em- 
peror's camp  and  realizing  the  hopelessness  of  his  ef- 
forts he  gave  up  the  siege  and  returned  with  his  army 
on  the  day  after  Christmas.  Pare  took  leave  of  the 
Due  de  Guise  and  returned  to  the  King  at  Paris,  by 
whom  he  was  honorably  received  and  given  200  ecus, 
besides  the  100  ecus  he  had  received  on  going  forth. 

In  1553  Pare  was  captured  by  the  enemy  when  the 
town  of  Hesdin  fell  into  their  hands.  He  had  been 
sent  to  Hesdin  by  the  King.  The  French  made  a  des- 
perate defense  but  were  finally  obliged  to  capitulate. 
Pare,  addressing  mon  petit  maistre,  says  that  if  he  had 
been  there  he  would  have  lacked  charcoal  to  heat  his 
hot  irons  and  would  have  been  killed  hke  a  calf  (comma 
un  veau)   for  his  cruelty  if  he  had  attempted  to  use 


50  AMBROISE  PARE 

them.  Also  he  would  have  lacked  the  jellies  and  dain- 
ties which  he  was  wont  to  feed  his  patients.  At  the 
council  of  the  officers  Pare  gave  his  voice  for  a  sur- 
render. Before  the  enemj^  entered  Pare  disguised  him- 
self by  giving  his  velvet  coat,  satin  doublet  and  cloak 
to  a  soldier  in  exchange  for  the  latter's  ragged  doublet 
with  a  frayed  leather  collar,  a  bad  hat  and  a  short 
cloak.  Pare  then  went  to  Monsieur  de  Martigues  who 
had  been  under  his  care  with  a  shot  wound  of  the  lungs 
and  arranged  that  he  should  stay  with  him  and  dress 
him  when  they  were  both  prisoners.  This  was  a  risky 
scheme  of  Pare's  because  although  by  disguising  him- 
self he  might  escape  paying  the  ransom  which  would 
be  demanded  for  his  release,  he  ran  the  chance  of  meet- 
ing the  fate  allotted  to  common  prisoners  of  that  time, 
namely  being  shot  or  cut  down  without  mercy  and  with 
no  regard  to  the  terms  of  surrender,  a  fate  which  actu- 
ally befell  most  of  those  who  surrendered  at  Hesdin. 
Monsieur  de  Martigues,  however,  being  a  prisoner  of 
importance  asked  that  Pare  be  allowed  to  accompany 
him  to  the  camp  of  his  enemies  and  the  Spaniards 
granted  his  request.  His  captors  sent  some  of  their 
own  surgeons  and  physicians  to  see  Monsieur  de  Mar- 
tigues. Pare  resolved  to  appear  ignorant  and  not  let 
them  know  they  had  captured  the  King's  surgeon  and 
yet  he  wished  them  to  see  that  he  had  taken  good  care 
of  the  wounded  man  as  otherwise  they  might  cut  his 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  51 

throat.  After  Pare  had  told  the  visitors  the  nature  of 
the  wound  and  what  he  had  done  for  it,  they  all  agreed 
with  him  in  his  unfavorable  prognosis  but  stated  in 
their  opinion  he  had  been  well  dressed  and  cared  for. 
At  this  conjuncture  a  Spanish  impostor  came  forward 
and  avowed  that  he  could  cure  de  Martigues,  if  he  was 
given  entire  charge  of  him.  The  Duke  of  Savoy  gave 
orders  that  no  physician  or  surgeon  should  interfere 
with  the  Spaniard,  and  Pare  was  forbidden  on  pain  of 
death  to  go  near  him.  This  rejoiced  Pare  because  he 
feared  that  when  de  Martigues  should  die  the  Spaniards 
would  blame  him  and  kill  him.  The  Spaniard's  treat- 
ment consisted  in  spells,  and  in  permitting  the  wounded 
man  to  eat  and  drink  whatever  he  pleased,  while  the 
Spaniard  dieted  himself  rigorously.  The  patient  died 
and  the  Spaniard  ran  away.  Pare  was  requested  by  the 
Emperor's  surgeon  to  embalm  the  body  which  he  did 
in  the  presence  of  the  surgeon,  and  of  many  other  phy- 
sicians and  surgeons  and  a  large  number  of  gentlemen. 
Pare  not  only  embalmed  the  body  but  delivered  to  those 
assembled  a  learned  discourse  on  anatomy.  The  Em- 
peror's surgeon  was  so  impressed  that  he  tried  to  per- 
suade Pare  to  remain  with  him,  offering  to  clothe  him 
and  give  him  a  horse.  But  Pare  declined,  saying  that 
he  had  no  desire  to  serve  foreigners.  To  this  patriotic 
statement  Pare  naively  appends  the  marginal  note 
"Brave  response."     The  surgeon  told  him  he  was  a 


52  AMBROISE  PARE 

fool.  Bu{  Pare  had  occasion  to  make  the  same  reply 
again  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy  himself,  when  that  Prince, 
having  been  told  by  the  Emperor's  physician  of  Pare's 
skill,  sent  to  ask  him  to  enter  his  service.  Pare  sent 
back  his  thanks  but  stated  that  he  would  never  serve 
a  stranger.  The  Duke  of  Savoy  was  very  angry  and 
said  the  surgeon  deserved  to  be  sent  to  the  galleys. 
Subsequently  Monsieur  de  Vaudeville  asked  the  Duke 
of  Savoy  to  send  Pare  to  him  to  see  if  he  could  cure 
a  leg  ulcer  from  which  he  had  suffered  for  six  or  seven 
years.  Savoy  sent  him  and  de  Vaudeville  promised  to 
set  him  free  if  he  succeeded  in  curing  him.  This  Pare 
did  and  thereby  secured  his  freedom. 

Pare  hastened  to  King  Henri  II.  The  King  received 
him  gladly,  gave  him  200  ecus  and  told  him  that  when 
he  had  heard  of  his  capture  he  had  sent  word  to  his 
wife  that  she  need  not  be  unhappy  that  he  would  pay 
his  ransom. 


CHAPTER  IV 

I"  IN    1554,    when   he   was    forty-four    years 

old,    Pare   was   made    a   member   of   the 
College  de  Saint  Come,  and  thereby  be- 

J  came  a  master  surgeon,  a  surgeon  of  the 

long  robe,  instead  of  a  barber-surgeon.  The  surgeons 
of  Paris  were  anxious  to  number  among  themselves 
a  man  of  such  prominence  and  weight  at  Court.  Pare 
knew  no  Latin  and  his  examination  for  admission  was 
so  conducted  as  to  render  it  a  farce.  He  was  given  his 
letter  of  reception  to  the  mastership  without  being  re- 
quired to  pay  the  customary  fees.  Twenty-three  years 
later,  in  1577,  Jean  Riolan,  professor  of  anatomy  at 
Paris,  wrote  a  pamphlet  in  which  he  ridiculed  the  man- 
ner in  which  Pare  had  been  received  into  the  College 
of  Surgeons.  However  that  may  be,  the  surgeons  cer- 
tainly showed  much  practical  wisdom  in  thus  serving 
him  because  it  was  probably  due  to  Pare's  influence 
that  the  Faculte  de  Medecine  attempted  no  more  in- 
terference with  their  affairs  throughout  the  reign  of 
Pare's  firm  friend  and  patron  Henri  II. 

Pare's  elevation  to  membership  in  the  College  de 

Saint  Come  furnishes  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  his- 

63 


54  AMBROISE  PARE 

tory  of  the  controversy  by  which  the  Confrerie  de  Saint 
Come  succeeded  in  elevating  itself  to  the  rank  of  a 
college,  securing  thereby  the  privileges  accruing  to  its 
affiliation  with  the  Universite  de  France  on  an  equal 
basis  with  the  Faculte  de  Medecine.  The  chief  factor 
in  bringing  about  this  unprovement  in  the  condition 
of  the  French  surgeons  was  one  Etienne  de  la  Riviere, 
a  native  of  Paris,  and  a  warm  friend  of  Fare's,  who  was 
one  of  the  witnesses  on  his  part  at  his  first  marriage, 
and  was  also  associated  with  him  in  many  other  af- 
fairs both  professional  and  social.  La  Riviere  began 
his  professional  career  as  a  barber-surgeon.  He 
worked  as  prosector  for  the  anatomical  demonstrations 
given  by  Charles  Etienne,  a  physician  belonging  to  the 
Faculte  de  Medecine.  In  1539  Charles  Etienne  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  publishing  a  book  on  anatomy 
based  on  these  demonstrations  for  which  Etienne  de 
la  Riviere  had  made  the  dissections.  The  latter 
claimed  recognition  of  his  share  in  the  work  and 
laid  his  claims  before  the  Parliament  of  Paris.  After 
an  investigation  by  a  commission  composed  of  physi- 
cians and  surgeons,  the  Parliament  acknowledged,  in 
1541,  the  justice  of  the  claim.  The  Confrerie  de  Saint 
Come  was  so  glad  of  a  victory  won  over  its  opponents 
of  the  Faculte  de  Medecine  that  it  proceeded  to  make 
the  barber-surgeon  de  la  Riviere  a  member  of  its  august 
self.     Thus  when  the  book  was  finally  published  in 


W8<>aBei8<»;wiigjBwgi4!4.ij.^^ 


LAB  OK  IMPROBVS    OMNIA.  VINCIT 


Ambroise  Pare,  at  the  Age  of  Forty-five. 
{Anatomie  Universelle,  1561.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  57 

1545,  Etienne  de  la  Riviere  figures  as  its  author,  with 
the  proud  title  of  surgeon,  instead  of  barber,  appended 
to  his  name.  La  Riviere  became  surgeon  to  the  King, 
and  sworn  surgeon  to  the  Chatelet.  Throughout  his 
career  he  lost  no  opportunity  to  advance  the  affairs  of 
the  College  de  Saint  Come,  and  it  was  largely  at  his 
instigation  and  by  his  influence  that  Pare  was  brought 
into  its  fellowship.  Thus  through  its  wisdom  or  policy 
the  College  de  Saint  Come  drew  from  the  despised  bar- 
bers two  members  who  not  only  did  much  to  advance 
its  own  interests,  but  also  its  standing  in  the  world  as 
the  exponent  of  French  surgery. 

Pare  passed  several  years  in  Paris,  working  hard  at 
anatomy  in  preparation  for  a  new  edition  of  his  book. 
In  1557  the  French  army  was  defeated  by  the  Span- 
iards in  the  battle  of  St.  Quentin.  The  Constable, 
Anne  de  JVIontmorency,  was  wounded  and  taken  pris- 
oner. Henri  II  wished  to  send  Pare  to  treat  him  but  the 
Duke  of  Savoy  remembered  him  from  the  days  of 
Hesdin  and  refused  to  allow  him  access  to  the  Spanish 
camp,  saying  that  there  were  plenty  of  surgeons  to  look 
after  the  Constable,  and  that  he  knew  Pare  was  privy 
to  other  things  than  surgery  and  therefore  might  con- 
vey information.  Pare  stayed  at  La  Fere,  whither  the 
French  had  retreated,  and  there  dressed  many  of  the 
wounded  in  the  battle. 

In   1558  he   was   sent  by  the   King  to   Dourlan 


58  AMBROISE  PARE 

(Doullens)  which  was  being  besieged  by  the  Spaniards. 
Pare  changed  places  with  his  man  servant  and  disguised 
as  a  menial  finally  succeeded  in  entering  the  town. 

In  1559  Pare  met  with  a  great  loss  by  the  death  of 
his  master  and  steadfast  friend  Henri  II,  who  was 
wounded  June  29,  1559.  The  fatal  lance  blow  was 
accidentally  given  during  a  tournament  by  Gabriel  de 
Montgomery,  Comte  de  Lorges,  captain  of  the  Scotch 
guard,  who  had  been  persuaded  against  his  will  to  enter 
the  lists  with  the  King.  Pare  was  one  of  the  surgeons 
in  attendance  on  the  King  and  Vesalius  was  sent  for 
from  Brussels.  The  King  lived  eleven  days.  The  sur- 
geons could  not  find  the  lance  splinters  which  had  pene- 
trated the  King's  brain  although  they  secured  the  heads 
of  four  criminals  that  had  been  beheaded  and  experi- 
mented upon  them  with  a  lance  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  probable  course  of  the  splinters.  The  lance  struck 
the  king  above  the  right  eye.  Pare  says,  "the  muscular 
skin  of  the  forehead,  over  the  bone,  was  torn  across  to 
the  inner  angle  of  the  left  eye,  and  there  were  many 
little  fragments  or  splinters  of  the  broken  shaft  lodged 
in  the  eye ;  but  no  fracture  of  the  bone.  Yet  because  of 
such  commotion  or  shaking  of  the  brain,  he  died  on  the 
eleventh  day  after  he  was  struck.  And  after  his  death, 
they  found  on  the  side  opposite  to  the  blow,  towards  the 
middle  of  the  commissure  of  the  occipital  bone,  a  quan- 
tity of  blood  effused  between  the  dura  mater  and  the 


Gabriel  de  Lorques,   Comte   de   Montgomery,  Arrayed 
FOR  the  Tournament 


— ^^  m 


Henri    II    Receiving   His    Fatal   Wound    in    the    Joust   with 

Montgomery. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  61 

pia  mater :  and  alterations  in  the  substance  of  the  brain, 
which  was  of  a  brownish  or  yellowish  colour  for  about 
the  extent  of  one's  thumb:  at  which  place  was  found 
a  beginning  of  corruption:  which  were  causes  enough 
of  the  death  of  my  lord,  and  not  only  the  harm  done  to 
his  eye." 

Henri's  successor,  Francois  II,  retained  Pare  in  his 
position  of  chirurgien  ordinaire  du  Roi.  This  prince 
reigned  but  eighteen  months.  He  was  the  husband  of 
Mary  Queen  of  the  Scots;  had  his  life  been  preserved 
her  fate  would  probably  have  been  very  different. 
There  is  a  vague  tradition  that  the  young  Queen  was  a 
friend  of  Fare's  and  frequently  conversed  with  him. 

Balzac  in  his  "Catherine  de  Medici"  gives  a  vivid 
though  entirely  imaginative  picture  of  the  deathbed  of 
Fran9ois  II,  in  which  he  makes  it  appear  that  Ambroise 
Fare  wished  to  trephine  the  King  and  thought  thereby 
he  could  save  his  life.  According  to  the  tale  Catherine 
de  Medici  backed  up  by  three  court  physicians  refused 
to  allow  him  to  perform  the  operation,  as  she  wished 
the  young  King,  her  own  son,  to  die.  Knowing  that  he 
was  completely  under  the  influence  of  the  Guises  the 
Queen  hoped  to  regain  her  power  by  acting  as  regent 
for  her  other  son,  Charles,  who  would  succeed  to  the 
throne. 

Francois  II  died  on  the  fifth  of  December,  1560,  at 
Orleans.     Fare  was  brought  into  unenviable  promi- 


62  AMBROISE  PARE 

nence  by  his  death.  Malgaigne  quotes  the  following  re- 
lation from  an  anonymous  life  of  Admiral  Coligny, 
published  in  1686,  apparently  based  on  family  records. 
It  will  be  recalled  that  the  Guises  were  at  this  time  all 
powerful  in  France.  The  Queen  was  their  niece.  They 
had  arrested  Conde,  the  leader  of  the  Huguenots,  and 
were  seeking  his  death  by  legal  forms. 

When  it  was  least  thought  of,  the  king  suddenly  felt  a  great 
pain  in  his  head,  which  obliged  him  to  put  himself  to  bed. 
One  would  have  thought  that  the  trial  of  the  Prince  de  Conde 
would  have  been  deferred,  but  the  Guises,  seeing  how  things 
would  change  if  they  lost  their  hold  of  the  Prince,  hastened 
the  judgment  against  him  so  that  he  was  condemned  to  lose 
his  head.  When  the  Admiral  (Coligny)  heard  of  this  order,  he 
sent  for  Ambroise  Pare,  surgeon  of  the  king,  under  the  pretext 
that  he  was  sick,  and  as  he  was  one  of  his  friends,  and  he  knew 
that  he  professed  secretly  the  same  religion,  and  demanded  of 
him  in  confidence  what  he  thought  of  the  illness  of  the  king. 
Pare  told  him  that  he  thought  he  was  in  great  peril,  but  that 
he  had  not  dared  to  say  so  because  he  feared  making  harm  at 
court.  On  which  the  Admiral  told  him  he  had  done  very  wrong, 
because  he  would  have  prevented  the  judgment  of  the  Prince 
de  Conde,  that  he  should  go  and  publish  this  news,  otherwise 
their  religion  would  lose  the  most  firm  support  that  it  had. 
Pare  promised  to  repair  his  fault,  which  he  did  at  once.  All 
the  court  was  surprised,  which  had  believed  to  the  contrary 
that  the  illness  was  nothing,  especially  because  it  had  begun 
to  suppurate  by  the  ear,  that  which  made  them  think  that  na- 
ture discharged  itself  there.    The  Chancellor,  hearing  the  news, 


Portrait  of  Francois  ii 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  63 

sent  for  Pare  to  know  if  it  was  true,  and  he  having  confirmed 
it,  the  other  became  ill  from  fear  of  signing  the  order.  This 
feigned  illness  lasted  until  one  saw  that  the  condition  of  the 
king  was  desperate.  Then  he  talked  in  a  different  manner  to 
the  Queen  Mother  (Catherine  de  Medici),  saying  that  the 
Guises  commenced  to  hold  them  in  contempt,  and  urged  her  to 
unite  with  the  princes  of  the  blood.  She  was  disposed  to  be- 
lieve this.  Pare,  having  told  this  to  the  Admiral,  whom  he 
continued  to  see  whenever  he  did  not  have  to  be  with  the  king, 
the  Admiral  charged  him  with  the  negotiation. 

Meanwhile  the  king  died  a  few  days  later  and  the  intrigues 
during  his  illness  made  everyone  believe  his  days  had  been 
hastened.  They  suspected  Pare  of  having  put  poison  in  his  ear 
when  he  dressed  him,  by  order  of  the  Queen  Mother,  who  saw 
no  other  means  of  assuring  her  authority. 

As  Malgaigne  says  this  suspicion  does  not  warrant 
attention.  It  is  given  the  lie  by  many  circumstances 
besides  the  character  of  Pare.  Charles  IX,  Francois* 
successor,  again  appointed  him  chirurgien  ordinaire  du 
Roi,  and  took  him  into  intimate  confidence  and  esteem 
One  of  the  stories  concerning  the  two  which  is  often 
repeated  is  that  of  the  bezoar  stone,  and  as  it  is  gener- 
ally told  as  a  reflection  on  Pare,  I  shall  give  his  own 
version  of  it,  as  narrated  in  his  book  on  poisons.  I 
must  confess  that  I  can  see  no  reason  why  any  blame 
should  be  attached  to  him  in  the  matter.  Experimen- 
tation on  criminals  was  a  common  practice  even  many 
years   later.     When   Lady   Mary  Wortley   Montagu 


64  AMBROISE  PARE 

introduced  inoculation  for  smallpox  into  England,  the 
method  was  tried  first  on  certain  criminals  who  were  to 
be  given  their  liberty  if  they  survived.  This  was  in 
1721,  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  Fare's 
exploit.  Charles  IX  had  been  presented  with  a  bezoar 
stone.  These  so-called  stones  are  concretions  which  are 
found  in  the  intestinal  tracts  of  certain  animals.  In- 
troduced into  medicine  by  the  Arabs,  they  were  held  in 
great  esteem  as  universal  antidotes. 

Charles  IX  was  very  proud  of  his  bezoar  stone.  He 
spoke  of  it  to  Pare  who  told  him  that  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  universal  antidote.  Pare  suggested  that  its 
efficacy  could  easily  be  tested  on  some  rascal  who  had 
been  sentenced  to  be  hung.  The  king  sent  for  his  pro- 
vost and  asked  him  if  he  had  any  prisoner  who  merited 
hanging.  "He  told  him  that  he  had  in  his  prison  a  cook, 
who  had  stolen  two  silver  plates  from  his  master,  and 
that  the  next  day  was  to  be  hung  and  strangled.  The 
King  told  him  he  wished  to  experiment  with  a  stone 
which  they  said  was  good  against  all  poisons,  and  that 
he  should  ask  the  said  cook  after  his  condemnation 
if  he  would  take  a  certain  poison,  and  that  they  would 
at  once  give  him  an  antidote;  to  which  the  said  cook 
very  willingly  agreed,  saying  that  he  liked  much  better 
to  die  of  said  poison  in  the  prison,  than  to  be  strangled 
in  view  of  the  people.  And  then  an  apothecary  gave 
him  a  certain  poison  in  a  drink  and  at  once  the  bezoar 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  65 

stone.  Having  these  two  good  drugs  in  his  stomach  he 
took  to  vomiting  and  purging,  saying  that  he  was  burn- 
ing inside,  and  calling  for  water  to  drink,  which  was 
not  denied  him.  An  hour  later,  having  been  told  that 
the  cook  had  taken  this  good  drug,  I  prayed  Monsieur 
de  la  Trousse  (the  provost)  to  let  me  to  see  him,  which 
he  accorded,  accompanied  by  three  of  his  archers,  and 
found  the  poor  cook  on  all  fours,  going  like  an  animal, 
his  tongue  hanging  from  his  mouth,  his  eyes  and  face 
flaming,  retching  and  in  a  cold  sweat,  bleeding  from 
his  ears,  nose  and  mouth.  I  made  him  drink  about  one 
half  sextier  of  oil,  thinking  to  aid  him  and  save  his  life, 
but  it  was  no  use  because  it  was  too  late,  and  he  died 
miserably,  crying  it  would  have  been  better  to  have 
died  on  the  gibbet.  He  Hved  about  seven  hours." 
Pare  performed  an  autopsy  which  showed  that  he  had 
died  of  a  gastroenteritis  from  corrosive  sublimate 
poisoning. 

In  1561  Pare  published  two  important  books,  his 
book  on  wounds  of  the  head  and  his  "Anatomic  Uni- 
verselle."  ^ 

Sir  William  Osler^  has  recently  described  a  copy 

•"La  Methode  Curative  des  playes,  et  fractures  de  la  teste  humaine, 
avec  les  portraits  des  instruments  necessaires  pour  la  curation  d'icelles,"  and 
"Anatomie  Universelle  du  corps  humain,  composee  par  A.  Pare,  chirurgien 
ordinaire  du  roy  et  jure  a  Paris:  revue  et  augmentee  par  le  dit  auteur,  avec 
I.  Rostaing  du  Bignose  Provencal  aussi  chirurgien  jure  k  Paris."  The 
latter  owes  much  to  plates  from  the  French  edition  of  Vesalius,  which 
had  appeared  in  1559,  but,  as  Malgaigne  states,  Fare's  book  was  long 
esteemed  as  a  textbook  of  anatomy  for  surgeons. 

''Ann.  Med.  Hist.,  i,  424. 


66  AMBROISE  PARE 

of  the  "Anatomie  Universelle"  which  he  had  procured  in 
Paris.  As  he  states  the  book  is  so  rare  that  Malgaigne 
knew  of  but  two  copies,  one  in  the  Bibliotheque  Sainte 
Genevieve,  the  other  in  private  hands  in  Bar-le-Duc. 
Neither  the  Library  of  the  Surgeon  General  in  Wash- 
ington, the  British  Museum,  nor  the  Bodleian  Library 
has  a  copy  of  this  book.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  copper 
plate  engraving  of  a  portrait  of  the  author,  at  the  age 
of  forty-five,  which  Sir  William  thought  was  by  far  the 
most  pleasing  which  has  descended  to  us. 

In  the  same  year,  1561,  Pare  had  his  leg  broken  by 
the  kick  of  a  horse,  which  confined  him  to  bed  for  sev- 
eral months.  He  describes  his  accident  and  the  treat- 
ment of  it  at  length  in  his  book  on  fractures.  He  was 
making  a  professional  call  on  horseback,  as  was  his 
custom,  in  company  with  Richard  Hubert  and  Antoine 
Portail,  to  a  small  village  near  Paris.  In  attempting 
to  make  the  horse  get  on  the  boat  to  cross  the  ferry, 
Pare  switched  him,  whereupon  the  horse  kicked  him 
upon  his  leg,  causing  a  compound  fracture  of  both 
bones.  Portail  and  Hubert  set  his  leg  and  applied  the 
first  dressing.  He  prayed  them  to  forget  their  old 
friendship  and  treat  his  leg  just  as  they  would  that  of 
an  ordinary  patient.  Hubert  and  Portail  were  barber- 
surgeons.  When  they  had  brought  him  back  to  Paris 
he  was  cared  for  "de  mes  compagnons  Chirurgiens  de 
Paris,"  especially  Etienne  de  la  Riviere.     It  is  sad  to 


tylN^T         IS 

VNIVERSELLE  DV 

Corps  hiunain,compo(ee  par  A  •  Par^ 
Chirurgien  ordinaire  du  Ro.yj&  lure  a 
Paris  :  reueue  &  augmentee  par  ledit  au- 
theur  auec  I.  Roftaingdu  Bignofc  Pro*. 
uen§al  aufsi  Chirurgien  lure  a  Paris. 


Ve^tmprlmerie  de  leh'ar.  ie  B^yer,' Imprimetir  dul^/i^ 
fviathemdiuiket i  demeurant  en  Urtte  S.  U^ues,a 
fenfetgne  du  Vuy  potier.pres  les  Mathurins» 

1  j^j» 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  69 

find  that  subsequently  he  and  Portail  had  some  kind 
of  a  quarrel,  and  in  the  later  editions  of  his  works 
Pare  does  not  mention  his  name  as  having  helped  him.^ 
Both  Hubert  and  Portail  later  advanced  from  the  rank 
of  barber-surgeons  to  master  surgeons. 

By  1562  Pare  was  again  fit  to  undertake  his  jour- 
neys and  he  accompanied  Charles  IX  to  the  sieges  of 
Bourges  and  Rouen.  At  the  latter  the  mortality 
among  the  wounded  from  infection  was  very  great. 
Pare  attributed  it  to  the  malignity  of  the  air.  Among 
those  who  died  was  the  King  of  Navarre,  Pare's  good 
friend.  He  was  one  of  the  surgeons  who  dressed  the 
King's  wound,  and  the  latter  bequeathed  him  six 
thousand  livres.  The  surgeons  had  been  unable  to  ex- 
tract the  ball  from  the  wound  which  was  in  the  shoulder. 
Pare  performed  an  autopsy,  and  in  the  presence  of 
many  witnesses  removed  the  ball  from  the  middle  of 
the  bone,  where  he  had  said  it  was  lodged. 

This  siege  of  Rouen  marks  another  epoch  in  Pare's 
surgical  experiences  for  from  this  time  he  found  the 
use  of  the  oil  made  from  puppies  as  a  dressing  for  gun- 
shot wounds  did  not  give  as  good  results  as  the  dressing 
of  the  wounds  with  Egyptiacum,  a  preparation  made 
with  honey  and  alum,  much  commended  by  John  of 
Vigo.     Later  he  used  a  dressing  of  turpentine  and 

•He   was    related    to    Par6    through   his    marriage   with    Jacqueline    de 
Prime. 


70  AMBROISE  PARE 

brandy.  The  campaign  of  1562  was  the  first  in  which 
we  find  Pare  accompanying  the  Royal  army  in  its  cam- 
paign against  the  Huguenots.  Conde  and  Pare's 
friend  Coligny  were  the  active  leaders  of  the  party  upon 
which  Charles  IX  was  waging  war.  After  the  victory 
won  by  the  Royalists  at  Dreux,  in  December  1562,  Pare 
dressed  many  of  the  wounded.  Conde  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  Royalists,  but  the  Huguenots  captured 
Anne  de  Montmorenci.  The  Peace  of  Amboise  was 
signed  shortly  after  the  murder  of  Guise  in  1563. 

The  year  1564  witnessed  the  publication  of  Pare's 
surgery.^  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  author  now  bears 
the  title,  premier  chirurgien  du  Roi.  He  took  the  oath 
as  first  surgeon  to  the  King  at  Saint-Germain-en-Laye 
on  January  1,  1562,  succeeding  the  deceased  Nicole 
Lavernot. 

In  1564,  Pare  started  with  Charles  IX,  the  Queen 
Regent  (Catherine  de  Medici)  and  the  entire  court  on 
a  royal  progress  through  France.  This  journey  lasted 
nearly  two  years  and  was  undertaken  as  a  political  cam- 
paign against  the  Huguenots.  In  its  course  Pare 
visited  most  of  the  large  cities  and  towns  of  France  and 
picked  up  a  great  amount  of  curious,  interesting  in- 
formation. While  at  Montpellier  he  was  bitten  by  a 
viper.    He  was  watching  an  apothecary  who  was  mak- 

*Dix  livres  de  la  Chirurgerie  avec  le  magasin  des  instrirments  necessaires 
a  icelle,  par  Ambroise  Pare,  premier  chirurgien  du  roy  et  jure    k  Paris. 


The  Constable  Anne  ue  Mont.morexh 

(From  (I  painting  in   Hie  Luiirre  bij  L/onnrd  Simonsin.) 


Cutting  Up  a  Whale. 
{Pare,  Edition  1585.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  73 

ing  some  theriaca,  the  universal  antidote  for  poisons. 
This  mixture  contained  amongst  its  many  ingredients 
vipers,  and  Pare  was  looking  at  those  which  the  apothe- 
cary was  going  to  use  when  one  of  them  bit  him  be- 
neath the  nail  of  his  first  finger.  Pare  tied  the  finger 
around  tightly  above  the  wound,  then  moistened  some 
old  theriac  ointment  in  brandy,  and  soaking  some  cot- 
ton in  it  applied  it  over  the  wound.  He  experienced  no 
ill-effects.  He  had  an  opportunity  to  study  the  plague, 
from  which  he  himself  once  suffered  an  attack,  and  of 
which  his  observations  and  experiences  enabled  him  to 
write  an  excellent  treatise.  At  Biarritz  he  learned  how 
the  inhabitants  caught  whales,  and  procured  a  whale's 
vertebrae  which  he  treasured  as  a  curiosity. 

When  the  Court  returned  to  Paris  the  city  was  in  the 
throes  of  an  epidemic  of  smallpox.  Pare,  although  a 
surgeon,  treated  many  cases.  Many  of  the  nobility 
suffered  from  the  disease,  among  them  Charles  IX  and 
his  sister  Marguerite  de  Valois,  who  married  Henri  of 
Navarre.  Pare  treated  Charles  IX  for  a  contracture 
of  the  arm  which  followed  a  venesection  said  to  have 
been  made  by  Antoine  Portail  during  the  king's  attack 
of  smallpox.  Portail  had  wounded  a  nerve.  "The  king 
remained  three  months  and  more  without  power  to  flex 
or  extend  his  arm;  nevertheless  (graces  a  Dieu)  he  re- 
covered without  the  slightest  impairment  of  motion."*^ 

"  Malgaigne's  edition  of  Par6,  ii,  115. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  religious  wars  broke  out  again  and 
once  more  Pare  was  busy  with  the  armies. 
After  the  battle  of  St.  Denis,  in  1567, 
I  he  dressed  many  of  the  wounded,  most 
of  whom  were  removed  to  Paris.  The  Constable, 
Anne  de  Montmorenci,  had  received  a  fatal  pistol 
shot  wound  in  the  spine.  Pare  was  sent  by  the  king 
to  attend  him  at  the  request  of  Madame  de  Mont- 
morenci. The  surgeon  was  at  Plessis  le  Tours  with  the 
Court  in  1569,  when  news  was  brought  that  the  Royal 
army  had  won  the  battle  of  JMoncontour.  IMany  of  the 
wounded  were  brought  to  Tours  where  Pare  and  other 
surgeons  dressed  them.  The  Count  of  INIansfield,  who 
had  fought  valiantly  for  the  King,  received  a  bad  shot 
wound  of  the  elbow.  He  was  taken  to  Borgueil,  from 
whence  he  sent  to  the  King  requesting  him  to  send  one  of 
his  surgeons  to  his  aid.  The  Mareschal  de  Montmorenci 
told  the  King  and  the  Queen  ^Mother  that  as  Mansfield 
had  done  so  much  to  secure  the  victory,  they  should  send 
Pare  to  dress  him,  but  the  King  flatty  refused,  saying 
that  he  did  not  wish  Pare  to  go  from  him.  Catherine 
de  Medici,  however,  explained  to  Charles  that  Pare 

74 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  75 

would  but  go  and  come  right  back,  and  that  as  the 
Count  of  Mansfield  was  a  foreigner  who  had  come  to 
their  aid,  having  been  sent  with  the  Spanish  troops  by- 
command  of  the  King  of  Spain,  they  should  do  their 
best  for  him.  Charles  finally  consented  and  Pare  was 
sent  to  the  Count  with  a  letter  from  the  King  and  Queen 
Mother.  At  Borgueil  Pare  found  many  other 
wounded  noblemen  whom  he  dressed.  The  Count  Rhin- 
grave  died  of  a  wound  similar  to  that  which  killed  the 
King  of  Navarre  at  Rouen;  Monsieur  de  Bassompierre 
was  wounded  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Count  of  Mans- 
field, "whom  I  dressed  and  God  healed  him"  (que  je 
pensay  et  Dieu  la  guarist).  "God  blessed  so  well  my 
work,  that  in  three  weeks  I  sent  him  to  Paris,  where  it 
was  yet  necessary  to  make  some  incisions  in  the  arm  of 
the  Count  of  Mansfield,  to  extract  the  bone  which  was 
greatly  sphntered,  broken  and  carious.  He  recovered 
by  the  Grace  of  God  and  made  me  a  worthy  present,  of 
a  sort  that  I  was  well  contented  with  him  and  he  with 
me. 

Mansfield  wrote  to  Monsieur  le  Due  d'Arschot  tell- 
ing him  how  well  Pare  had  treated  him,  with  the  result 
that  the  Due  d'Arschot  sent  one  of  his  gentlemen  to  the 
King  to  beseech  him  to  send  Pare  to  see  what  he  could 
do  for  his  brother,  the  Marquis  d'Auret,  who  was  lying 
at  the  Chateau  d'Auret,  near  Mons,  suffering  from  a 
gunshot  wound  of  the  leg,  received  seven  months  pre- 


76  AMBROISE  PARE 

viously  and  still  unhealed.  The  King  consented  to  send 
Pare  who  thereupon  set  out  for  d'Auret.  He  gives  a 
lengthy  description  of  his  management  of  the  case,  which 
occupied  him  two  months,  during  which  he  stayed  at  the 
chateau  with  the  Marquis.  The  result  was  fortunate 
for  both  Marquis  and  surgeon.  The  former  recovered 
entirely.  Pare  was  feted  and  made  much  of.  At  part- 
ing Madame  la  Duchesse  d'Arschot  drew  a  diamond 
ring,  worth  more  than  fifty  ecus,  from  her  finger,  and 
presented  it  to  him,  and  the  Marquis  gave  him  a  present 
of  great  value.  While  in  attendance  on  the  Marquis, 
Pare  made  a  Httle  tour  of  Flanders  going  to  Antwerp, 
Malines,  and  Brussels,  in  all  of  which  places  the  prin- 
cipal citizens  showed  him  much  honor. 

In  1567  Pare  made  an  attempt  to  bring  all  those 
who  should  undertake  to  practice  surgery  in  France  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  the  premier  surgeon  to  the  king, 
an  office  then  held  by  himself.  Heretofore  the  premier 
barber-surgeon  to  the  King  had  been  the  ostensible  head 
of  not  only  the  barber-surgeons  but  also  the  surgeons. 
Le  Paulmier  says  that  the  Faculte  de  Medecine  had 
connived  at  this  arrangement  as  an  aid  in  maintaining 
its  own  superiority  over  the  surgeons.  Pare  suppli- 
cated the  King  (Charles  IX)  to  this  effect,  and  he  in 
turn  referred  the  matter  to  the  Faculte  de  Medecine, 
ordering  them  to  consult  with  some  of  the  surgeons  and 
give  him  their  advice.     Fare's  request  was  that  he  as 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  77 

premier  surgeon  should  be  placed  over  all  those  prac- 
ticing surgery,  and  that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to 
practice  that  profession  in  France  without  his  authori- 
zation or  the  authorization  of  certain  persons  to  be 
named  by  him,  with  whom  should  be  associated  two 
physicians.  This  last  promise  was  obviously  intended 
as  a  sop  to  the  Faculte  de  Medecine.  Pare  had  already 
secured  the  assent  of  the  physicians  to  the  King,  but 
Camusat,  the  premier  barber-surgeon  and  the  sworn  sur- 
geons were  quick  to  take  alarm.  Such  a  strong  oppo- 
sition was  developed  that  Fare's  project  was  defeated. 
As  Le  Paulmier  states  it  remained  for  Felix  Fagon, 
premier  surgeon  to  Louis  XIV,  to  finally  free  the  sur- 
geons from  their  subjection  to  the  premier  barber-sur- 
geon of  the  King. 

After  1559  Pare  no  longer  followed  the  armies  but 
lived  and  labored  in  Paris,  the  city  for  which  he  ex- 
presses his  love  in  so  many  places  throughout  his  works. 
He  seems  to  have  passed  all  his  life  in  Paris  in  the  house 
or  houses  which  he  owned  near  the  Pont  Saint  Michel. 
Here  he  gathered  around  him  various  relatives.  Most 
of  them  lived  in  houses  which  Pare  had  acquired  from 
time  to  time.  He  was  very  generous  and  charitable, 
and  not  only  adopted  a  nephew  and  niece,  but  also 
gave  much  financial  assistance  to  other  persons  with 
whom  he  had  no  blood  relationship.  In  1568  Pare  pub- 
lished   his    treatises    on    the    plague,    smallpox,    and 


78  AMBROISE  PARE 

measles,^^  based  on  his  personal  observation  of  these 
diseases.  This  little  book  treating  of  subjects  apper- 
taining more  to  medicine  than  surgery  was  written  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  Queen  Mother,  Catherine  de 
Medici. ^^  Pare  says  that  he  had  seen  many  plague- 
stricken  patients  during  his  service  at  the  Hotel  Dieu 
and  subsequently,  and  that  he  had  himself  suffered  from 
the  disease.  He  states  his  belief  that  the  plague  is  sent 
directly  by  God  as  a  manifestation  of  his  wrath  but 
he  warns  the  surgeon  "not  to  neglect  the  remedies  ap- 
proved by  physicians  both  ancient  and  modern:  for  as 
by  the  will  of  God  this  disease  is  sent  among  men  so 
by  His  holy  will  He  gives  us  methods  and  remedies,  to 
use  them  as  instruments  for  His  glory."  His  prac- 
tical measures  in  regard  to  hygiene  and  quarantine  are 
excellent  in  most  respects,  although  he  followed  the 
generally  prevalent  idea  that  bonfires  of  aromatic 
woods,    such   as    juniper   and    pine,    should   be    made 

"Traict6  de  la  Peste,  de  la  petit  verolle  et.  rougcolle  avec  une  briefue 
description  de  la  lepre. 

"It  is  curious  to  study  the  different  views  which  prevail  among  con- 
temporary writers  as  well  as  among  the  modern  concerning  Catherine  de 
Medici.  Brautome,  in  his  "Vies  des  Dames  lUustres,"  pictures  her  as  a 
beautiful  woman,  full  of  grace  and  amiability,  praising  especially  the 
beauty  of  her  complexion  and  her  hands.  He  says  she  was  devoted  to  her 
husband,  her  father-in-law,  and  her  children,  a  good  queen  who  loved 
France  and  only  wished  for  peace.  Henri  IV,  in  1600,  spoke  of  her  in 
the  following  terms,  remarkable  when  one  considers  the  relations  existing 
between  them  during  the  queen's  life.  "But,  I  pray  you,  what  could  a 
poor  woman  do,  having  by  the  death  of  her  husband  five  small  children 
in  her  arms,  and  two  families  who  thought  to  seize  the  crown,  mine  and 
the  Guises?  It  was  necessary  that  she  should  use  d'itranges  personnages 
to  deceive  the  one  and  the  other,  and  meanwhile  guard,  as  she  did,  her 
children,  who  have  successively  reigned  by  the  sage  conduct  of  a  woman 
so  wise.     I  am  astonished  she  did  not  do  worse." 


Catharine  de  Medici 

{Prom  on  iinnHfiird  ciKjnn-hxi  In  liihliolhrqiie  Salute  Genevlh'e.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  79 

throughout  the  streets  to  purify  the  air.  He  humanely 
urges  that,  "The  magistrates  must  have  all  sick  folks 
attended  by  physicians,  surgeons,  and  apothecaries, 
good  men,  of  experience :  and  must  treat  them  that  are 
attacked  and  isolate  them,  sending  them  to  places  set 
apart  for  their  treatment,  or  must  shut  them  up  in  their 
own  houses  (but  this  I  do  not  approve,  and  would 
rather  they  should  forbid  those  that  are  healthy  to  hold 
any  converse  with  them)  and  must  send  men  to  dress 
and  feed  them,  at  the  expense  of  the  patients,  if  they 
have  the  means,  but  if  they  are  poor,  then  at  the  expense 
of  the  parish.  Also  they  must  forbid  the  citizens  to  put 
up  for  sale  the  furniture  of  those  who  have  died  of 
the  plague."  He  recommended  that  surgeons  called  to 
attend  patients  should  first  be  purged  and  bled,  and 
then  have  two  issues  made,  one  on  the  right  arm,  an- 
other on  the  left  leg,  as  those  who  have  such  open  sores 
do  not  contract  the  plague.  They  should  use  an  aromatic 
compound  mixed  with  theriac  as  a  wash  to  purify  their 
bodies,  and  wear  a  little  sachet  containing  an  aromatic 
powder,  also  compounded  with  theriac,  over  the  heart. 
Pare  gives  a  vivid  description  of  the  cruelty  engendered 
in  the  inhabitants  of  plague-stricken  cities  by  the  panic 
which  prevailed  in  them.  Let  us  give  Catherine  de 
Medici  credit  for  one  good  deed  in  her  dark  life  and 
consider  ourselves  beholden  to  her  for  having  caused 
Pare  to  write  a  book  of  so  much  value.     In  the  edi- 


8o  AMBROISE  PARE 

tions  of  the  book  which  appeared  in  1568  and  1575 
Pare  concluded  with  a  long  dissertation  breathing  the 
most  profound  piety  in  which  with  many  scriptural 
quotations  he  describes  life  as  a  constant  warfare  and 
misery  and  death  as  in  most  instances  a  blessed  relief, 
and  urges  all  to  prepare  their  minds,  and  help  others 
in  their  last  days  to  prepare  theirs  to  meet  the  righteous 
Judge.  He  makes  no  mention  of  the  aids  afforded  by 
the  priesthood  and  the  whole  discourse  has  a  very  strong 
tinge  of  the  Religion  (as  the  faith  professed  by  the 
Huguenots  was  termed)  in  contrast  with  CathoHcism. 
In  the  edition  of  1575  (three  years  after  the  massacre 
of  St.  Bartholomew)  he  added  the  following  as  though 
he  might  have  been  admonished  in  the  interval: 

ADVERTISEMENT  OF  THE  AUTHOR 

The  author  has  made  this  little  admonition  for  the  young 
surgeon,  finding  himself  sometimes  in  places  where  there  are 
no  priests,  nor  any  other  men  of  the  church  at  the  death  of 
poor  plague  stricken.  As  I  have  seen  when  the  King  Charles 
being  at  Lyons  during  the  great  mortality,  where  they  en- 
closed in  the  houses  of  the  rich  a  surgeon  for  the  treatment  of 
those  who  were  plague  stricken,  without  being  able  to  be  suc- 
coured by  anyone  to  console  them  in  the  extremity  of  death; 
and  the  said  surgeon  having  been  instructed  by  this  little 
admonition,  will  be  able  to  serve  at  necessity  instead  of  a 
greater  cleric  than  he.  And  I  wish  not  here  to  pass  the  limits 
of  my  vocation  but  only  to  aid  the  poor  plague  stricken  in  the 
extremity  of  death. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  81 

Death  is  the  fear  of  the  rich, 
The  desire  of  the  poor. 
The  joy  of  the  wise. 
The  fear  of  the  wicked. 
End  of  all  miseries. 
Commencement  of  the  life  eternal. 
Fortunate  to  the  elect. 
Unfortunate  to  the  reprobates. 

In  this  treatise  on  "The  Pest,"  Pare  makes  the  first 
reference  Malgaigne  was  able  to  find  in  medical  liter- 
ature to  the  discovery  at  autopsy  of  metastatic  abscesses 
of  the  internal  organs  following  wounds.  Pare  states 
that  they  occur  in  the  liver  and  lungs  and  are  due  to 
corruption  in  the  blood. 

Pare  was  living  in  Paris  when  the  thunderbolt  of 
the  Massacre  of  Saint  Batholomew  was  launched  on  the 
heads  of  the  French  Protestants.  Although  many  be- 
lieve that  the  plot  to  massacre  the  Protestants  had  been 
conceived  in  1565,  seven  years  before,  at  the  interview 
between  the  Queen  Mother  and  Alva  at  Bayonne,  there 
are  some  who  think  it  occurred  as  the  result  of  a  sud- 
den panic  among  the  Catholics  of  the  Court  on  the 
night  of  the  massacre  itself.  Throughout  the  short 
reign  of  Fran9ois  II  and  that  of  his  successor,  Charles 
IX,  there  had  been  constantly  increasing  warfare  be- 
tween the  Catholic  party  led  by  the  Due  de  Guise,  the 
Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  and  Anne  de  Montmorenci,  and 


82  AMBROISE  PARE 

the  Protestants  led  by  the  Prince  de  Conde,  Admiral 
Coligny,  and  the  latter's  brothers.  In  August,  1572, 
the  marriage  which  had  been  arranged  between  Henri 
of  Navarre  and  Marguerite  de  Valois,  sister  of  Charles 
IX,  was  to  be  celebrated  in  Paris.  Henri  being  a 
Huguenot  the  marriage  ceremony  was"  held  just  in 


Pake's    Open    Splint    for    Compound    Fractures    or    Gunshot 
Wounds  of  the  Forearm. 


front  of,  but  not  within  the  Cathedral  de  Notre  Dame. 
All  Henri's  friends,  the  chief  leaders  of  the  Huguenot 
party,  had  come  to  Paris,  under  special  passports  and 
safeguards,  for  the  occasion.  The  Guises  and  their 
adherents  were,  of  course,  with  the  Court.  Admiral 
Coligny  was  made  much  of  by  the  King  and  he  and 
his  party  felt  themselves  secure  in  the  Royal  protec- 
tion. On  August  22  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
as  Coligny  was  walking  from  his  house  to  the  Louvre, 
a  shot  was  fired  at  him  from  a  window,  cutting  off  the 
index  finger  of  his  right  hand  and  then  ploughing  up 
through  his  left  arm  to  the  elbow.    His  followers  dashed 


CrASPAKDE-  COLl  GISn'-  s'dECBA  STILLONCHL  R  •  DEL  ORDRE- 
DV.ROY'liOV*DB-PARlSl  SI. EBEFRAf^CE  PICARDIEET' 
AKr(n8-aOEONEi.GNAEDEE'mFANTERlEFKAMlRALDE- 
FR.LE-XINOV.J.^52-MORT.LEXXIV.AOV5T.L^72-A-57-AN5- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  83 

into  the  house  from  whence  the  shot  had  come  but  the 
scoundrel  who  had  fired  made  his  escape  from  the  rear 
on  horseback.  He  was  a  servant  of  the  Guises  named 
Maurevert,  the  house  belonged  to  that  family,  and  the 
horse  on  which  he  escaped  had  come  from  their  stables. 
Pare  was^  sent  for  and  dressed  Coligny's  arm,  ampu- 
tating the  injured  finger.  The  same  day  the  King 
and  the  Queen  Mother  went  with  solemn  hypocrisy  to 
pay  a  visit  of  sympathy  to  the  wounded  Admiral. 
Meanwhile  the  excitement  in  Paris  was  intense.  The 
Huguenots  threatened  reprisals  for  the  injury  to  their 
chief,  and  a  rumor  spread  among  the  Cathohcs  that 
the  Huguenots  were  going  to  storm  the  Louvre,  carry 
off  the  King  and  Queen  Mother,  and  massacre  all  the 
Guises  and  their  adherents.  A  conference  between  the 
King  and  the  Queen  Mother  and  the  Catholic  leaders 
resulted  in  a  determination  to  anticipate  any  hostile  ac- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Huguenots  by  a  general  mas- 
sacre of  them.  The  signal  was  to  be  given  by  sounding 
the  bell  on  the  Church  of  Saint  Germain  L'Auxerois. 
It  is  said  that  Charles  IX  held  out  against  the  final  de- 
cision of  the  conference  as  long  as  possible,  finally  giv- 
ing way  with  the  exclamation  that  they  might  kill  the 
Huguenots,  but  that  if  they  started  the  massacre  they 
must  continue  it  until  they  had  exterminated  all  the 
Huguenots,  so  that  not  one  should  remain  to  reproach 
him  afterwards.    The  conspirators  did  their  best  to  ful- 


84  AMBROISE  PARE 

fill  his  desire.  De  Thou,  the  historian,  estimates  the 
number  killed  in  Paris  at  2,000,  but  other  estimates 
are  much  larger.  Coligny  was  murdered  in  his  bed- 
chamber, and  his  body,  thrown  from  the  window  on  to 
the  pavement  below  before  life  was  extinct,  landed  at 
the  feet  of  the  Due  de  Guise  who  had  personally  led  the 
soldiers  who  sought  him.  The  thrill  of  horror  which 
went  through  England,  the  Low  Countries,  and  the  rest 
of  the  Protestant  world  was  counterbalanced  by  the 
joy  and  exultation  of  the  Catholics.  His  Holiness  the 
Pope  Gregory  XIII  ordered  a  Te  Deum  and  a  medal 
struck  to  commemorate  this  triumph  of  Holy  Church. 
Philip  II  said  it  was  the  greatest  joy  of  his  life  and 
added  quite  correctly  that  it  would  be  the  greatest  title 
to  the  glory  of  Charles  IX  in  the  eyes  of  posterity. 

The  subject  of  Pare's  religious  belief  has  been  most 
vehemently  discussed.  Malgaigne  decides  that  he  was 
a  Catholic,  and  he  certainly  conformed  externally  to 
that  faith.  He  was  twice  married  by  the  rites  of  that 
church,  once  at  St.  Andre  des  Arts,  and  the  second 
time  at  St.  Severin;  his  children  were  baptized  in  that 
faith,  and  he  was  buried  in  it.  He  passed  most  of  his 
life  at  a  bigoted  Catholic  court,  during  the  heat  of  the 
wars  of  religion,  and  was  the  personal  attendant  of 
kings  who  were  bent  on  repressing  the  Religion  at  all 
costs;  nevertheless  there  are  several  reasons  which  can 


The  Murder  of  Admiral  Coligny. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  87 

be  advanced  in  support  of  the  belief  that  he  was  of  the 
Rehgion.  In  the  hfe  of  Coligny,  compiled  from  family 
archives  but  pubhshed,  as  Malgaigne  points  out,  more 
than  a  century  after  the  event,  the  statement  is  made 
that  he  was  "secretement  huguenot." 

In  the  memoirs  of  Sully,  the  great  Prime  Minister 
of  Henry  IV:  ^^^^ 

Of  all  those  near  the  prince  (Charles  IX)  there  was  no 
one  so  much  in  hts  confidence  as  Ambroise  Pare.  This  man^ 
who  was  only  his  surgeon^  had  taken  with  him  so  great  famil- 
iarity, although  he  was  Huguenot,  that  this  prince  having  said 
to  him  on  the  day  of  the  massacre,  that  this  was  the  hour 
when  it  was  necessary  for  everybody  to  make  themselves  Cath- 
olic, Pare  responded,  without  being  moved,  "By  the  light  of 
God,  Sire,  I  believe  that  you  will  remember  having  promised 
never  to  demand  of  me  four  things,  to  wit,  to  enter  again  into 
the  womb  of  my  mother,  to  take  care  of  myself  on  the  day  of 
battle,  to  quit  your  service,  and  to  go  to  mass."  The  king  took 
him  aside  and  opened  to  him  the  trouble  with  which  he  felt 
himself  agitated:  "Ambroise,"  said  he  to  him,  "I  know  not 
what  has  come  over  me  since  two  or  three  days,  but  I  find 
my  spirit  and  body  so  much  shaken  as  if  I  had  the  fever.  It 
seems  to  me  at  every  moment,  waking  as  much  as  sleeping,  that 
these  massacred  bodies  present  themselves  to  me,  their  faces 
hideous  and  covered  with  blood.  I  only  wish  they  did  not 
comprise  among  them  imbeciles  or  innocents."  The  order  that 
was  published  the  following  days  to  stop  the  killing  was  the 
fruit  of  this  conversation. 

"■  Memoires  de  Maximilian  de  Bethune  Due  de  Sully,  ed.  1768,  i,  65. 


88  AMBROISE  PARE 

Malgaigne  discounts  this  conversation  because  Sully, 
although  in  Paris  at  the  time  of  the  massacre,  was  but 
twelve  years  old;  that  he  fled  from  the  city  immedi- 
ately afterwards  and  did  not  return  for  twenty  years; 
and  because  of  the  foolishness  {niaserie)  of  Fare's 
statement  to  the  king.  However  that  may  be,  the  prime 
minister  of  Henry  IV  was  certainly  au  fait  with  the 
history  of  the  Huguenot  movement  and  some  weight 
must  be  attached  to  his  positive  statements  in  the  mat- 
ter. Again,  Brantome  in  his  memoirs,  writing  of 
Coligny's  death,  states  that  Pare  "was  very  huguenot" 
(estoit  fort  huguenot),  and  that  Charles  IX  "crying 
incessantly:  'kill,  kill'  wished  to  save  no  one,  except 
Master  Ambroise  Pare,  his  first  surgeon,  and  the  first 
of  the  Christianity ;  and  he  sent  to  seek  him  and  for  him 
to  come  that  evening  into  his  chamber,  and  dressing 
room,  commanding  him  not  to  budge  from  it,  and  said 
it  was  not  right  that  one  who  could  save  so  many  poor 
people  should  be  thus  massacred,  and  that  he  would 
not  press  him  to  change  his  religion  any  more  than  he 
would  his  nurse." 

One  other  very  significant  story  is  told  by  Pare  him- 
self. In  the  1575  edition  of  his  works,  he  tells  how 
after  the  siege  of  Rouen,  in  1562,  he  was  dining  in 
the  company  of  some  "who  hated  me  to  death  for  the 
Religion"  {qui  me  hayoyent  a  mort  pour  la  Religion) , 
when  he  was  suddenly  taken  violently  ill  after  taking 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  89 

a  mouthful  of  cabbage.  He  asserts  that  it  contained 
either  corrosive  sublimate  or  arsenic.  He  caused  him- 
self to  vomit,  drank  a  quantity  of  oil  and  milk,  and  ate 
some  eggs,  whereby  he  relieved  himself.  This  narra- 
tive is  omitted  from  subsequent  editions  of  his  works 
published  in  his  lifetime. 

Le  Paulmier^^  is  convinced  that  Pare  was  a  Hu- 
guenot and  as  a  proof  brings  forward  a  statement  made 
by  Pare  himself  in  a  memoir  written  by  him  in  1575 
in  response  to  the  attack  made  upon  his  works  by  the 
Faculte  de  Medecine.  In  its  course  Pare  states  that  he 
belonged  to  "the  Religion"  and  that  this  fact  had  been 
made  use  of  by  his  enemies.  This  memoir  was  un- 
known to  Malgaigne.  It  was  referred  to  by  Turner,^* 
but  was  first  published  by  Le  Paulmier,  who  unearthed 
it  from  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  and  printed  it  in 
full  at  the  end  of  his  book. 

Malgaigne's  opinion  was  that  at  least  so  far  as  the 
external  forms  of  religion  went  Pare  was  undoubtedly 
Catholic,  but  he  was  tied  by  friendship  to  Cohgny  and 
his  sympathies  were  with  the  persecuted  sect.  We  can- 
not figure  a  man  of  his  kind  disposition  as  a  bigoted 
fanatic  on  either  side  of  a  religious  controversy,  but  I 
believe  Le  Paulmier's  discovery  has  cleared  up  the 
whole  matter  and  that  we  must  take  Ambroise's  own 

"Ambroise  Par6  d'apres  de  nouveaux  Documents,  80. 
"(7az.  heb.  de  mM.,  1879,  no.  24-. 


90  AMBROISE  PARE 

statement  as  the  truth  of  it.  Possibly  after  the  Mas- 
sacre of  Saint  Bartholomew  he  decided  that  it  was  wiser 
to  become  reconciled  to  the  Catholic  party  than  to  pub- 
licly profess  a  religion  which  would  have  meant  the  loss 
of  his  peace  of  mind  and  prosperity  in  his  profession. 
There  are  two  other  great  figures  in  sixteenth-cen- 
tury France,  one  of  them  the  ordained  priest  Rabelais, 
the  other  the  courtier  Montaigne,  whose  writings  show 
that  they  disapproved  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the 
leaders  of  the  faith  which  they  externally  professed. 
Both  of  them  could  be  truthfully  styled  un  peu  hugue- 
not. Pare,  as  so  many  of  his  profession  in  all  ages,  was 
profoundly  impressed  with  the  internal  verities  of  re- 
ligion, but  was  above  the  pettiness  of  the  ecclesiastical 
squabbles  which  hamper  so  much  real  religion.  Mon- 
taigne, Rabelais,  and  Pare  were  probably  all  of  them 
disgusted  with  the  cruelties  practiced  in  the  name  of 
religion,  and  especially  were  they  revolted  by  the  oppo- 
sition of  dogma  to  the  free  thought  which  was  burst- 
ing forth  in  their  age.  Pare  was  not  a  man  to  busy 
himself  with  foolish  subtleties.  His  was  a  practical  life, 
full  of  hard  work,  much  of  it  of  a  most  self-sacrificing 
character.  He  could  well  afford  to  stand  aloof  and, 
occupied  in  his  own  sphere,  follow  his  life  in  his  own 
way.  His  life  was  at  any  rate  a  refutation  of  the  state- 
ment common  in  his  time  as  in  others  "ubi  tres  medici, 
duo  athei." 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  91 

Villaume  reports  a  curious  conversation  between 
Catherine  and  Pare,  which  Malgaigne  rejects  because 
he  was  unable  to  find  its  original  source.  The  Queen 
Mother  asked  Pare  one  day  if  he  expected  to  be  saved 
in  the  next  world.  Pare  replied,  "Yes,  certainly,  Mad- 
ame, for  I  have  done  that  which  I  could  to  be  a  brave 
man  in  this,  and  God,  who  is  merciful,  understands  well 
all  tongues,  and  is  even  as  content  that  one  should  pray 
to  him  in  French  as  in  Latin." 

One  other  point  about  his  treatise  on  the  plague. 
In  the  first  edition  Pare  had  stated  that  antimony  was 
of  service  in  certain  cases  of  the  plague.  But  the  Fac- 
ulte  de  Medecine  had  solemnly  decreed  against  it  as  a 
poison  and  ordered  the  expulsion  from  their  midst  of 
anyone  who  should  prescribe  it.  When  he  first  re-pub- 
lished the  treatise  in  his  collected  works  in  1575,  he 
let  the  passage  stand  as  in  the  separate  treatise,  but  in 
the  second  edition  of  his  collected  works  (1579)  he  de- 
ferred to  the  Faculty  and  in  place  of  what  he  had  writ- 
ten before  he  wrote  that  "some  approve  and  greatly 
recommend  antimony,  alleging  many  experiences  they 
have  had  with  it.  As,  however,  the  use  of  it  is  reproved 
by  messieurs  of  the  Faculte  de  Medecine,  I  will  refrain 
from  writing  anything  of  it  in  this  place." 

In  1572  Pare  pubHshed  another  work  on  surgery^^ 

*^Cinq  Livres  de  Chlrurgie.  Although  this  book  is  known  to  have 
been  published  by  Pare  and  is  mentioned  by  Haller  in  his  Bibliotheca 
Chirurgica,  there  is  no  known  copy  of  it  in  existence  at  the  present  time. 


92  AMBROISE  PARE 

in  which  he  wrote  of  tumors  and  also  attacked  the  book 
pubhshed  by  Le  Paulmier  in  1569.  The  writer  after 
plagiarizing  largely  from  Fare's  book  on  wounds,  had 
the  audacity  to  attribute  to  him  the  frightful  mortality 
which  prevailed  among  the  wounded  at  Rouen  and  af- 
ter the  battles  of  Dreux  and  St.  Denis.  Le  Paulmier 
was  a  member  of  the  Faculte  de  Medecine  and  it  made 
a  great  scandal  to  see  such  a  contest  between  the  great- 
est of  the  surgeons  of  Saint  Come  and  a  member  of  the 
faculty. 

The  year  1573  marked  an  epoch  in  Fare's  life.  At 
this  time  he  published  another  surgical  work^^  which 
contained  his  book  on  "Monsters"  with  the  treatise  on 
obstetrics.  It  will  be  recalled  that  in  1549  Fare  had 
published  a  little  work  on  anatomy  to  which  was  ap- 
pended a  short  treatise  on  obstetrics.  In  the  "Deux 
livres  de  chirurgie,"  published  in  1573,  the  part  entitled, 
"De  la  generation  de  I'homme,  et  maniere  d'extraire 
les  enfants  hors  du  ventre  de  la  mere,"  is  a  much  more 
elaborate  work  on  obstetrics.  In  this  Fare,  however, 
omitted  any  mention  of  what  we  must  regard  as  his 
greatest  claim  to  distinction  as  an  obstetrician,  namely, 
the  induction  of  artificial  labor  by  manual  means,  when 

^'Deux  Livres  de  Chirurgie  I.  De  la  generation  de  I'homme,  et  maniere 
d'extraire  les  enfants  hors  du  ventre  de  la  mere,  ensemble  ce  qu'il  faut 
faire  pour  la  faire  mieux  et  plustost  accoucher,  avec  le  cure  de  plusiers 
maladies  qui  lui  peuvent  survenir.  II.  Des  Monstres  tant  terrestres  que 
maras  avec  leurs  portraits.  Plus  un  petit  traite  des  plaies  falites  aux 
parties  nerveuses. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  93 

the  mother's  life  is  in  peril.  Malgaigne  has  proved  con- 
clusively that  the  credit  of  this  innovation  in  obstetric 
practice  should  be  ascribed  to  Pare,  although  it  has  been 
erroneously  ascribed  to  others.  Thus  Louise  Bour- 
geois, the  celebrated  French  midwife,  in  her  book  pub- 
lished in  1609  claims  the  discovery  for  herself,  although 
by  her  own  evidence  she  had  never  put  it  in  practice 
before  the  year  1602,  whereas  Guillemeau,  in  his  book 
"L'heureux  accouchement,"  published  very  shortly  af- 
ter that  of  Louise  Bourgeois,  tells  how  in  1599  he  de- 
livered Fare's  own  daughter  by  inducing  labor  in  the 
manner  which,  he  states,  he  had  seen  practiced  by  Fare 
twenty-five  years  before.  Curiously  Fare  only  says  that 
potions,  baths,  suffumigations  with  sternutatories,  emet- 
ics, and  the  application  of  various  medicaments  within 
the  vagina,  should  be  used  if  the  mother's  strength  is 
sufficient  to  bear  them.  Why  Fare  should  have  thus 
omitted  mention  of  the  method  which  he  himself  had 
used  with  success  remains  a  complete  mystery. 

The  book  on  monsters  should  be  read  in  its  entirety 
as  it  illustrates  the  extent  to  which  a  scientific  mind, 
such  as  Fare's,  was  yet  trammelled  by  the  ignorance 
and  superstition  of  his  age.  Thus  among  the  causes 
of  monsters  he  enumerates  the  glory  of  God,  His  ire, 
and  the  activities  of  demons  and  devils.  He  quotes  the 
restoration  of  sight  to  the  blind  by  Jesus  Christ,  as 
given  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  as  an  instance  of  a  man 


94  AMBROISE  PARE 

who  was  made  blind  for  the  glory  of  God.  Monstrous 
births  which  result  from  God's  anger  are  those  which 
result  from  disobedience  of  the  laws  of  sexual  hygiene 
such  as  are  laid  down  by  Moses  in  Leviticus.  Pare 
states  that  no  one  can  doubt  the  existence  of  sorcerers, 
since  it  is  witnessed  by  many  learned  men  both  ancient 
and  modern,  and  by  the  enactment  of  laws  against  them 
(which  would  not  be  decreed  if  sorcerers  did  not  exist) ; 
Moses  also,  he  mentions,  expressly  condemns  them  in 
Exodus  and  Leviticus.  Likewise  there  certainly  are 
demons  and  devils  in  the  air,  on  the  earth,  and  within 
man  himself.  Pare  says  he  himself  saw  a  sorcerer,  pos- 
sessed of  a  devil,  who  did  marvelous  things  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Charles  IX  and  his  nobles.  He  writes  with  be- 
coming awe  of  the  succubi  and  incubi,  although  he  does 
not  claim  to  have  any  personal  knowledge  of  their  do- 
ings. In  the  1585  edition  he  added  a  paragraph  in 
which  he  said,  "As  for  me,  I  believe  that  this  cohabi- 
tation is  imaginary,  proceeding  from  an  illusory  impres- 
sion of  Satan." 

Pare  states  that  he  himself  has  seen  cures  wrought 
by  spells.  "I  have  seen  the  jaundice  disappear  from 
the  surface  of  the  body  in  a  single  night  by  means  of  a 
little  cachet  suspended  to  the  neck  of  the  patient."  He 
also  mentions  having  seen  a  hemorrhage  checked  by  cer- 
tain words  spoken  in  Latin.  After  recounting  many 
cures  on  hearsay  by  magical  spells  he  says:  "It  is  cer- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  95 

tain  that  sorcerers  cannot  cure  natural  diseases,  nor 
physicians  the  diseases  caused  by  sorceries." 

The  book  on  monsters  contains  the  description  of 
two  specimens  of  monstrous  births  which  Pare  had  in 
his  own  house.  He  presents  them  as  might  any  mod- 
ern teratologist  without  reverting  to  any  supernatural 
explication  as  to  their  etiology.  Pare  was  a  fifm  be- 
liever in  the  powerful  effects  of  prenatal  impressions 
and  he  gives  instances  in  support  of  his  opinion. 
Clubbed  feet  or  hands  he  attributes  to  the  mother,  be- 
lieving that  she  either  sat  in  a  faulty  position  or  laced 
her  abdomen  too  tightly  during  pregnancy. 

Pare  wrote  at  length  on  a  topic  which  occupied  much 
attention  among  his  contemporaries,  namely,  the  chang- 
ing of  sex,  whereby  according  to  the  current  belief  in- 
dividuals who  were,  apparently,  girls  or  women  became 
changed  from  the  female  to  the  male  sex.  The  explan- 
ation of  these  cases  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the  de- 
layed descent  of  the  testicles.  Pare,  as  stated  before, 
relates  the  case  of  Marie  Germain,  whom  he  saw  at 
Vitry-le-rran9ois.  This  child  was  regarded  as  a  girl 
until  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  she  was  running  hard, 
the  true  sexual  characteristics  suddenly  developed. 
Montaigne  in  his  "Essays"  (Chapter  XX,  Book  I), 
tells  how  he  also  saw  Marie  at  Vitry-le-rran9ois,  but  he 
gives  the  date  of  the  change  of  sex  as  the  twenty-second 
year. 


96  AMBROISE  PARE 

Pare  recites  the  histories  of  several  cases  of  vesical 
calculus,  operated  upon  by  one  or  the  other  of  the 
Colots  and  gives  pictures  of  the  specimens  of  the  stones 
which  were  presented  to  him  by  these  doctors.  Mal- 
gaigne  directs  attention  to  the  fact  that  Pare  himself 
had  never  operated  for  stone  in  the  bladder  until  after 
this  book  appeared.  He  speaks  in  the  highest  terms 
of  the  skill  of  the  Colots. 

Pare  tells  some  excellent  stories  of  the  tricks  prac- 
ticed by  beggars  to  feign  injuries  and  diseases.  His 
brother  Jean,  the  surgeon  at  Vitre,  as  mentioned  pre- 
viously, was  especially  expert  at  the  detection  of  these 
cozeners. 

As  an  instance  of  the  wit  with  which  the  writings 
of  Pare  sparkle,  the  following  may  be  cited.  In  writ- 
ing of  alopecia  Pare  says,  "If  it  is  due  to  syphilis,  the 
patient  should  be  rubbed  (with  mercurial  ointment) 
until  he  enters  the  kingdom  of  Bavaria,"  (jusque  a  ce 
qu'il  eritre  an  royaiume  de  Baviere)  a  play  on  the 
French  word,  haver,  to  salivate. 


CHAPTER  VI 

N  November  the  fourth,  1573,  Fare's  wife, 
Jeanne  Mazelin,  died  and  was  buried  on 
the  same  day  in  the  Church  of  St.  Andre 
des  Arts.  She  was  fifty-three  years  old 
and  was  survived  by  one  daughter,  Catherine,  aged 
thirteen  years.  The  two  sons  died  in  infancy.  Pare 
had  also  Hving  with  him  at  this  time  Jeanne  Pare, 
the  daughter  of  his  brother  Jean,  the  cabinet  maker, 
whom  he  had  adopted.  Only  three  months  after  his 
first  wife's  death  on  January  18,  1574,  Pare  mar- 
ried Jacquehne  Rousselet,  whose  father,  Jacques 
Rousselet,  was  chevaucher  ordinaire  of  the  stables  of 
the  king.  His  wife,  Marie  Boullaie,  was  of  good  fam- 
ily. The  bride's  witnesses  were  all  persons  of  good  es- 
tate, namely,  Robert  Boullaie,  secretary  of  the  premier 
president  of  Dauphine  and  Fran9ois  Bouterone,  advo- 
cate in  the  court  of  Parlement.  Pare's  sole  witness  was 
Hilaire  de  Brion,  master-apothecary,  grocer,  and  bour- 
geois of  Paris.  Jacqueline  Rousselet  brought  Pare  five 
thousand  livres  tournois  as  her  dot,  and  he  settled  an  an- 
nual income  of  five  hundred  livres  tournois  on  her.  Pare 
subsequently  took  but  two  thousand  livres  tournois  of 

Jacquehne's  dowry. 

97 


98  AMBROISE  PARE 

Some  days  before  the  marriage  Pare  bestowed  on 
his  niece,  Jeanne  Mazelin,  a  house  near  the  Pont  Saint 
Michel.  He  also  gave  her  one  hundred  livres  tournois 
of  rent  with  the  sole  condition  that  he  reserved  the  usu- 
fructs from  the  house  and  the  rental  during  his  life  and 
that,  if  Jeanne  died  without  leaving  children,  the  gifts 
should  revert  to  him.  By  his  second  wife  Pare  had  six 
children,  although  he  was  sixty-four  years  old  at  the 
time  of  his  marriage. 

Through  Le  Paulmier's  researches  we  are  able  to 
follow  somewhat  the  lives  of  Pare's  children  and  his 
other  relatives.  His  niece  Jeanne,  daughter  of  his 
brother  Jean,  married  Claude  Viart  on  the  twenty-sev- 
enth of  March,  1577.  Viart  had  lived  for  twenty  years 
in  Pare's  house  as  his  assistant.  He  was  a  master  sur- 
geon of  Nantes,  and  had  served  as  surgeon  in  the  army. 
The  match  evidently  pleased  the  bride's  uncle  who,  in 
addition  to  the  house  and  money  which  he  had  already 
bestowed  on  Jeanne  and  now  gave  her  outright,  pre- 
sented the  bridegroom  with  his  long  black  robe  with 
velvet  trimmings,  all  his  surgical  instruments,  the  sur- 
gical plates  which  had  been  published  in  his  last  book 
(the  complete  edition  of  1575),  costing  more  than  one 
thousand  ecus,  and  most  of  his  books  published  or  to 
be  published.  He  reserved  for  himself  only  the  usu- 
fruct of  these  gifts  during  his  life.  Viart  was  in  very 
good  circumstances  as  he  was  able  to  give  his  wife  a 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  99 

dowry  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  livres  tournois.  Claude 
Viart  was  living  in  June  1582  when  he  assisted  with 
Pare  at  an  operation  by  a  master  barber-surgeon  named 
Charbonnel,  as  related  by  Pare  in  his  "Apology,"  but 
he  had  died  before  March  1584<,  as  Le  Paulmier  found 
a  quittance  of  that  date  given  by  his  widow.  Jeanne 
was  married  again  on  January  11,  1588,  to  rran9ois 
Forest  of  Orleans,  by  whom  she  had  a  son  also  named 
Francois. 

Pare's  daughter  Catherine,  by  his  first  wife,  married 
on  March  28,  1581,  Fran9ois  Rousselet,  the  brother  of 
her  stepmother,  by  whom  she  had  eight  children.  Pare 
had  a  quarrel  with  this  dual  relative,  rran9ois  Rousse- 
let, concerning  money  matters,  but  it  was  settled  out 
of  court.  After  the  death  of  both  her  husband  and 
father,  Catherine  came  back  to  live  in  Pare's  old  house 
and  died  there  in  1616. 

Anne,  Pare's  eldest  daughter  by  his  second  wife, 
Jacqueline  Rousselet,  was  baptized  at  the  church  of 
Saint  Andre  des  Arts  on  July  16,  1575.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  note  that  her  godparents  were  all  persons  of  the 
highest  rank.  Her  godmother  was  Anne  d'Este,  the 
first  wife  of  Fran9ois  de  Lorraine,  Due  de  Guise,  by 
whom  that  noble  lady  had  two  sons,  the  famous  Henry, 
Due  de  Guise,  and  the  Cardinal  de  Guise.  After  the 
death  of  the  duke  Anne  d'Este  married  Jacques  de  Sa- 
voie.  Due  de  Nemours.  The  godfather  of  Pare's  daugh- 


loo  AMBROISE  PARE 

ter  Anne  was  Charles  Emanuel  de  Savoie,  Due  de  Ne- 
mours, the  son  of  her  godmother.  In  1596  Anne  married 
Henri  Simon,  a  government  official.  She  nearly  lost 
her  life  in  childbirth  in  1599,  being  saved  by  Guille- 
meau  and  Haultin  who  used  the  method  taught  them 
by  Ambroise  Pare.  As  stated  above  Louise  Bourgeois 
is  often  said  to  have  originated  the  practice  of  inducing 
labor  to  save  the  life  of  the  mother.  She  tells  in  her 
"Observations  diverses  sur  la  sterilite,  perte  de  fruict," 
which  was  published  in  1609,  how  she  had  used  it,  stat- 
ing that  it  was  a  means  "of  saving  the  mother  and  giv- 
ing baptism  to  the  infant."  She  speaks  also,  however, 
of  her  regret  that  she  had  not  practiced  it  before  she 
attended  the  Duchess  of  Montbazon.  Now  that  lady 
died  in  1602,  in  childbirth.  In  the  following  year 
(1603),  we  know  from  the  report  of  a  case  by  Guille- 
meau  that  Louise  did  not  use  it  on  a  case  in  which  they 
were  both  in  attendance. 

The  story  of  the  delivery  of  Pare's  daughter  in  1599 
is  told  by  Guillemeau  in  his  "L'heureux  accouchement." 
She  was  attended  by  a  midwife  named  Charonne,  and 
by  Drs.  Haultin  and  Rigault.  When  she  was  near 
her  term  she  was  seized  with  a  terrific  hemorrhage,  caus- 
ing syncope.  Guillemeau  and  his  son-in-law.  Mar- 
chant,  were  called  in  consultation.  Guillemeau  advised 
that  labor  be  immediately  induced,  as  he  had  seen  the 
patient's  father  do  it  in  a  similar  case.     This  advice 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  loi 

was  followed  and  the  mother  and  child  were  both  saved. 
Guillemeau's  book,  "L'heureux  accouchement,"  was 
published  in  1609,  just  after  the  book  of  Louise  Bour- 
geois. He  states  in  it  that  he  had  seen  Pare  and  Hubert 
induce  labor  twenty-five  years  before  in  these  cases — 
that  is  in  1584.^^  None  of  her  other  children  survived. 
She  and  her  husband  were  still  living  but  childless  in 
1616. 

Fare's  second  child  of  his  second  marriage  was  a  boy, 
named  for  his  father,  Ambroise.  He  was  baptized  on 
May  30,  1576,  having  as  grand  an  array  of  godparents 
as  his  sister.  His  godmother  was  Phillipe  de  Montes- 
pedon,  duchesse  de  Beaupreau,  who  had  first  been  the 
wife  of  JSIareschal  de  ^Nlontejan,  with  whom  Pare  had 
made  his  first  campaign.  After  the  death  of  Mareschal 
de  Monte j  an  she  had  married  the  Prince  de  la  Roche- 
sur-Yon.  One  of  the  godfathers  was  Charles,  Comte  de 
J^Iansfield,  and  the  other  Charles  de  Lorraine,  Due 
d'Elboeuf.    This  child  died  while  yet  an  infant. 

Another  daughter,  Marie,  was  baptized  on  Febru- 
ary 6,  1578.  Her  godfather  was  Jean  Camus,  notary 
and  secretary  to  the  king  and  registrar  of  the  Council. 
He  was  wealthy  enough  to  be  able  to  loan  the  king 
25,000  livres  tournois  on  one  occasion,  which  was  prob- 

"My  information  is  derived  from  Malgaigne's  notes  to  Park's  book  on 
generation.  He  quotes  from  an  article  by  M.  Guillemot  entitled:  "Re- 
marques  historiques  relatives  a  Tart  des  accouchements,  et  particuliere- 
ment  a  I'accouchement  force,"  Archiv.  gen,  de  med..  Par.,  1837,  xv, 
554. 


102  AMBROISE  PARE 

ably  the  reason  why  he  was  subsequently  appointed 
intendant  of  finances.  One  of  Marie's  godmothers  was 
Marie  du  Tillet,  wife  of  Pierre  Seguier,  lieutenant  civil 
de  la  prevote  de  Paris.  The  other  godmother  was  her 
grandmother,  Madame  Rousselet.  This  child  lived  only 
a  short  time. 

On  October  8,  1579,  another  daughter,  Jacqueline, 
was  baptized.  Her  godfather  was  Jean  Lallemant, 
seigneur  de  Vousse,  a  man  very  prominent  in  the  offi- 
cial life  of  his  time,  being  maitre  des  Comptes  a  Paris 
and  grand  audencier  de  la  chancellerie.  One  of  the 
godmothers  was  his  sister,  the  wife  of  Claude  Denbray, 
seigneur  de  Bruyeres  le  Chastely  prevost  des  marchands 
de  Paris.  The  other  was  Antoinette  Lallemant,  wife  of 
M.  Pierre  Charles,  auditeur  du  Roy  and  conseiller  en 
la  chambre  des  Comptes.  Jacqueline  died  when  she 
was  not  quite  three  years  old,  being  buried  in  the  ceme- 
tery of  Saint  Andre  des  Arts  on  September  13,  1582. 

Another  daughter  was  baptized  Catherine  on  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1581.  Fare's  daughter  Catherine,  by  his  first 
wife,  was  still  living  and  one  would  think  that  the  simi- 
larity of  names  might  have  occasioned  some  confusion. 
Her  godfather  was  M.  Vincent  Moussey,  conseiller  au 
Parlement.  One  of  her  godmothers  was  Barbe  Rous- 
selet, wife  of  Didier  Martin,  archer  de  la  garde  du 
corps  du  Roy  and  the  other  was  her  half-sister  Cath- 
erine. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  103 

The  second  Catherine,  as  her  sister  of  the  same 
name,  survived  her  father.  She  was  married  in  the 
church  of  Saint  Andre  des  Arts  on  September  29, 
1603,  to  Claude  Hedehn,  conseiller  en  la  chamhre  du 
tersor,  an  advocate  of  good  family  and  ample  means. 
He  was  also  a  poet  and  Latin  scholar  of  no  mean  abil- 
ity. Hedelin  died  April  18,  1638.  His  widow  sur- 
vived  him  until   November    11th.    1659.      They   had 


ci  7C  ' 


Autograph  of  Ambroise  Pare. 

(Reproduced  by  Le  Paulmier  from  a  quittance  in  the  BibliotMque 

Nationale,  Pieces  origvnales  3195.) 

twelve  children.  Some  of  their  descendants  yet  live 
and  to  Madame  le  Marquise  Le  Charron,  whose  hus- 
band was  a  direct  descendant  of  Catherine  Pare  and 
Claude  Hedelin,  Le  Paulmier  expresses  his  indebted- 
ness for  permission  to  utilize  documents  among  the  ar- 
chives of  the  family,  documents  which  were  of  the  great- 
est importance  in  elucidating  the  life  of  Pare.  Among 
other  things,  he  found  the  only  authentic  writing  with 
an  autograph  and  a  picture  of  the  great  surgeon. 

One  other  son  was  born  to  Pare,  once  more  named 
Ambroise.  He  was  baptized  on  November  8,  1583. 
One  of  the  godfathers  was  Jacques  Mareschal,  con- 
seiller du  Boy,  the  other,  Jacques  Guillemeau,  the  king's 


rj 


104  AMBROISE  PARE 

surgeon.  The  godmother  was  Anne  de  Navieres, 
daughter  of  an  advocate  to  the  grand  council.  This 
boy  was  destined  to  the  same  fate  as  the  other  male 
children  of  Pare.  He  died  when  less  than  a  year  old 
and  was  buried  on  August  19,  1584,  in  the  church  of 
Saint  Andre  des  Arts. 

Pare  also  took  into  his  house  and  helped  support 
Bertrand  Pare,  son  of  his  brother  Jean,  the  barber-sur- 
geon of  Vitre,  after  the  latter's  death  which  occurred 
before  the  year  1549. 

On  the  fifth  of  August,  1549,  by  a  legal  document 
in  which  Bertrand's  father  is  referred  to  as  deceased, 
Ambroise  Pare  and  his  wife  conferred  on  Bertrand 
Pare  an  annuity  of  forty  livres  tournois.  Pare  also 
entered  his  nephew  as  a  student  in  the  College  de  Saint 
Come,  from  which  it  was  necessary  to  remove  him  as 
he  would  not  work.  Pare  then  apprenticed  him  to  an 
apothecary,  Jean  de  Saint  Germain.  In  this  position 
he  again  failed  to  prove  satisfactory.  No  trace  is  left 
of  this  ne'er-do-well  and  with  this  act  of  generosity  of 
his  uncle  he  passes  out  of  view. 

But  to  return  to  the  recital  of  Pare's  own  exploits. 
Charles  IX  died  of  phthisis  in  May,  1574.  To  Pare 
fell  the  duty  of  performing  an  autopsy  and  embalm- 
ing the  body.  Henri  III,  who  succeeded  his  brother, 
not  only  retained  Pare  as  his  surgeon  but  also  appointed 


A.MBRoisE  Pare 
{An  unsUined  portrait  in  the  pas:-«'.^.siun  of  Ins  dcsct'inlanl.i.    Le  Paulmier.) 


1^1^ 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  105 

him  valet  de  chamhre  du  roi.  To  two  anecdotes,  apro- 
pos of  Pare  at  the  court  of  Henri  III,  Malgaigne  does 
not  give  credence  because  he  could  not  find  the  original 
sources  from  which  they  descended  to  the  narrators 
who  gave  them  out  some  two  hundred  years  later.  One 
is  that  the  courtiers  used  to  call  the  ptisans  adminis- 
tered by  Pare  "Ambrosia,"  and  that  Saint-Maigrin, 
one  of  the  mignons  of  Henri  III,  told  the  King  one  day 
that  he  was  living  on  "Ambrosia,"  being  under  treat- 
ment at  the  time  by  Pare  for  some  venereal  trouble. 

The  other  story  relates  how  one  day  Bussy  d'Am- 
boise,  a  most  popular  courtier,  upon  hearing  a  court 
usher  calhng  out  what  he  thought  was  his  name,  an- 
swered the  smnmons  to  go  to  the  King,  only  to  find 
that  it  was  Ambroise  (Pare)  that  the  King  had  wished 
called.  The  courtiers  all  laughed  at  him  for  his  mis- 
take, but  Bussy  d'Amboise  turned  them  off  by  say- 
ing, "If  I  was  not  d'Amboise,  I  would  wish  to  be  Am- 
broise, for  there  is  no  man  whom  I  hold  in  more  regard." 

In  1575  Pare  pubhshed  the  first  collected  edition 
of  his  works.  ^®  It  was  written  in  French  and  contained 
a  portrait  of  the  author,  and  a  dedication  to  the  King. 
The  royal  privilege  to  print  the  work  had  been  signed 

^'Les  Oeuvres  de  M.  Ambroise  Pare,  conseiller  et  premier  chirurgien 
du  roy,  avec  les  figures  et  portraits  tant  de  I'anatomie  que  des  instru- 
ments de  chirurgie  et  de  plusieurs  monstres.  The  illustrations  for  this 
book  were  taken  from  the  fourth  and  last  edition  of  this  work  published 
during  Park's  lifetime   (1585). 


io6  AMBROISE  PARE 

at  Avignon,  September  30,  1574.  The  printing  of  it 
was  finished  April  22,  1575.  On  May  5,  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Faculte  de  Medecine,  those  present  formulated 
a  demand  that  before  being  put  on  sale  the  works  of 
Ambroise  Pare,  "homme  tres  impudent  et  sans  aucun 
savoir,"  should  be  submitted  to  them  for  their  approval. 
Etienne  Gourmelen,  the  dean  of  the  Faculte  de 
Medecine,  thought  he  saw  a  good  opportunity  to  hit 
a  hard  blow  at  the  former  barber-surgeon  who  had  been 
created  master  surgeon  by  the  royal  favor  against  the 
will  of  the  Faculte  and  without  all  the  customary  for- 
malities. He  revived  a  decree  of  Parlement,  which  had 
been  made  in  1535,  prohibiting  the  publication  of  any 
book  on  medicine  without  permission  having  been  pre- 
viously given  by  the  Faculte  de  Medecine  of  Paris.  In 
Fare's  works  there  was  a  book  on  fevers  and  much  else 
bearing  on  strictly  medical  (non- surgical)  topics,  also 
Pare  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  Latin  and  Greek,  even 
of  the  elements  of  grammar,  and  his  book  was  written 
in  French.  The  Faculte  notified  the  College  de  Saint 
Come  and  asked  its  cooperation  in  their  attack  on  this 
edition  of  the  works  of  this  upstart  who  had  so  well 
feathered  his  nest  by  the  most  obvious  breaches  of  pro- 
priety. Gourmelen  also  tried  to  secure  the  support  of 
the  Universite  by  complaining  to  its  representatives 
that  the  works  of  Pare  contained  many  abominable 
things  very  injurious  to  the  morals  of  the  community. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  107 

When  the  case  came  up  on  July  14,  1575,  before  the 
Parlement  de  Paris  the  physicians  demanded  the  con- 
firmation of  the  decree  of  1535  ordaining  that  no  work 
on  medicine  should  be  published  without  previous  au- 
thorization by  the  Faculte  de  Medecine.  The  surgeons 
appeared  for  the  College  de  Saint  Come  against  Pare 
notwithstanding  his  fellowship  in  that  body.  The  pre- 
vost  of  the  merchants  and  the  aldermen  of  Paris  were 
represented  by  an  advocate  who  demanded  that  the 
book  should  be  burned  because  it  contained  indecencies 
and  things  hurtful  to  morals  in  the  state.  Added  to 
this  Andre  Malzieu  brought  a  charge  that  Pare  had 
been  guilty  of  plagiary  from  his  translation  of  a  book 
by  Gourmelen.  Pare  addressed  a  little  pamphlet  in 
justification  of  himself  and  his  works  to  the  Parle- 
ment. This  memoir  was  not  known  to  Malgaigne,  and 
Le  Paulmier,  who  publishes  it  in  full,  says  that  he 
knows  of  no  mention  of  it  by  any  author  except  M. 
Turner.^*  It  bears  the  title  "Reponse  de  M.  Ambroise 
Pare,  premier  Chirurgien  du  Roy,  aux  calomnies  d'au- 
cuns  Medicins  et  Chirurgiens,  touchant  ses  oeuvres," 
without  date,  although  obviously  written  during  the 
progress  of  the  action  against  Pare  in  1575,  and  be- 
gins as  follows: 

Messieurs,  for  more  than  thirty  years  I  have  had  printed 
many  treatises  on  surgery;  to  which  not  only  no  man  opposed 
himself,  but  on  the  contrary  each  one  was  received  with  favor 
^*Oaz.  hebd.  de  m4d.  1879,  no.  24. 


io8  AMBROISE  PARE 

and  applause — which  made  me  think  that  if  I  gathered  them 
in  a  body  it  would  be  a  thing  very  agreeable  to  the  public. 
Which  I  having  accomplished  and  with  expense  unbelievable, 
when  I  thought  to  make  them  see  the  day,  behold.  Messieurs, 
the  physicians  and  surgeons  opposing  themselves  to  obscure 
and  extinguish  them,  for  no  other  reason  than  because  they 
are  put  in  our  vulgar  tongue,  and  in  very  intelligible  terms,  be- 
cause they  feared  that  those  into  whose  hands  they  should 
come,  thinking  themselves  sufficiently  provided  with  counsel 
to  rule  them  in  their  sickness,  would  not  deign  to  summon 
them.  And  the  surgeons  doubted  lest  the  barbers  receiving 
full  instruction  by  the  reading  of  my  works  in  all  the  opera- 
tions of  surgery,  would  come  to  be  as  skilful  as  themselves,  and 
by  this  means  trespass  on  them.  For  the  rest  and  others  in 
general,  they  were  piqued  by  wilful  hate,  envy,  and  jealousy  to 
see  Ambroise  Pare  in  some  reputation,  a  man  well  esteemed  in 
his  estate;  and  to  give  color  to  their  act  they  dismembered  at 
the  outset  some  half-sentences  of  my  works,  taken  from  ancient 
authors  put  into  French  by  themselves ;  thinking  by  such  means 
to  abuse  your  good  will  so  as  to  render  my  cause  more  odious. 
Therefore  to  answer  them  I  have  willed  to  put  this  word  in 
writing  in  advance  to  serve  for  my  salvation;  to  let  them  un- 
derstand that  I  have  wherewith  to  pay  them.  Praying  you. 
Messieurs,  to  consider  that  it  is  one  thing  to  treat  of  the  civility 
of  manners  in  moral  philosophy  for  the  instruction  of  tender 
youth,  and  another  thing  to  talk  of  natural  matters  as  a  true 
physician  and  surgeon  for  the  instruction  of  grown  men. 

Pare  then  devotes  a  number  of  pages  to  proving 
that  the  portions  of  his  book  which  his  opponents  had 
claimed  were  indecent  contained  nothing  more  than  had 
been  written  of  before  in  much  the  same  terms  by  physi- 
cians of  both  ancient  and  modem  times,  concerning  the 
generation  of  man,  without  even  causing  criticism  on 
the  grounds  of  indecency  or  being  subversive  of  public 
morals.  He  defends  himself  and  Charles  IX  for  their 
administration   of   corrosive   subhmate   to   a  criminal, 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  109 

stating  that  it  was  the  best  way  in  which  to  prove  the 
worthlessness  of  bezoar  stone  as  an  antidote.  He  states 
that  some  attacked  him  because  he  had  narrated  that 
he  had  been  given  poison  in  his  food  by  some  who  hated 
him  because  he  was  Huguenot,  thereby  implicating 
the  Catholics  in  the  crime.  He  denies  that  he  had  told 
this  story  with  any  intention  to  cast  aspersions  on  the 
Catholics,  but  that  he  had  wished  his  readers  to  un- 
derstand that  the  crime  was  attempted  against  him 
solely  from  rehgious  or  political  motives,  and  not  be- 
cause he  had  been  guilty  of  any  wrong  doing  to  any 
one.  As  to  the  monsters  described  and  pictured  in  his 
book  he  says  that  he  had  collected  many  of  them  from 
the  works  of  Rondelet,  Gesner,  Cardan,  and  Boistnau, 
books  which  are  ordinarily  found  in  the  hands  of  ladies 
and  girls;  moreover  of  such  monsters  he  says:  "Is  it 
not  permissible  to  see  them  every  day  in  the  flesh  and 
bone  in  this  city  of  Paris  and  elsewhere?"  Pare  then 
defends  himself  against  the  charge  of  blasphemy  and 
of  lack  of  charitableness  toward  the  poor,  by  stating 
that  his  stories  regarding  the  detection  of  beggars  were 
meant  to  aid  in  the  detection  of  impostors,  not  to  in- 
jure the  worthy  poor,  and  that  his  remarks  on  diseases 
named  for  the  saints  were  not  intended  as  reflections  on 
those  holy  personages.  He  defends  his  use  of  anti- 
mony. The  statement  had  been  made  in  his  deroga- 
tion that  he  had  served  but  two  kings.     Pare  pointed 


no  AMBROISE  PARE 

out  that  he  had  been  surgeon  to  the  King  of  Navarre, 
Henri  II,  Charles  IX,  and  was  at  present  serving 
Henri  III.  It  is  curious  that  he  makes  no  reference 
to  his  service  as  surgeon  to  Francois  II.  Possibly  he 
did  not  wish  to  stir  up  recollections  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  been  accused  of  causing  this  king's  death  by  poison- 
ing him.  He  asserts  his  firm  belief  that  the  kings  of 
France  possess  the  power  of  curing  scrofulous  sores 
by  the  royal  touch.  He  says  he  has  seen  them  do  so 
many  times,  and  the  fact  is  so  notorious  that  for  that 
reason  he  did  not  write  about  it  in  his  book. 

Pare  concludes,  "For  my  part  I  esteem  nothing  in 
my  book  pernicious  because  it  is  written  in  our  vulgar 
tongue.  Thus  the  divine  Hippocrates  wrote  in  his  lan- 
guage, which  was  known  and  understood  by  women 
and  girls,  talking  no  other  language  than  that.  As  to 
me  I  have  not  written  except  to  teach  the  young  sur- 
geon, and  not  to  the  end  that  my  book  should  be  han- 
dled by  idiots  and  mechanics,  even  if  it  was  written  in 
French." 

The  edition  of  Fare's  works  published  in  1575  is 
notable  also  for  the  treatise  contained  in  it  "of  poisons 
and  the  bites  of  mad  dogs,  and  other  bites  and  stings  of 
venomous  beasts."  This  treatise  is  most  interesting.  It 
discusses  the  subject  very  fully  from  the  sixteenth- 
century  point  of  view,  giving  directions,  for  instance,  as 
to  the  best  way  prelates  and  other  holders  of  ecclesias- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  in 

tical  preferment  may  guard  themselves  against  being 
poisoned.  Such  persons  should  refrain  from  eating 
highly  seasoned  food,  as  sauces  when  prepared  by  any 
who  could  be  suspected  of  such  designs.  Each  morning 
they  should  take  a  little  of  one  of  the  universal  antidotes, 
either  mithridatium  or  theriaca,  with  a  little  conserve 
of  roses,  then  drink  some  good  wine  or  malvoisie,  or 
eat  of  the  leaves  of  the  rue,  with  a  nut  and  some  dry 
figs.  In  case  the  poison  has  been  swallowed  he  recom- 
mends emetics,  enemata,  and  the  administration  of  oil 
internally.  Pare  refers  to  the  story  currently  told  that 
Pope  Clement  VII,  uncle  of  Catherine  de  Medici,  was 
poisoned  by  the  vapor  of  an  envenomed  torch,  and  to 
other  cases  of  poisoning  by  the  odors  of  substances. 
It  will  be  recalled  that  perfumers  as  a  class  were  fre- 
quently suspected  of  kilhng  people  by  means  of  poi- 
soned perfumes.  The  Queen  Mother's  own  perfumer 
was  quite  generally  suspected  of  such  acts.  Pare  con- 
cludes: "The  true  remedy  for  these  envenomed  per- 
fumes, is  never  to  smell  them,  and  to  flee  such  perfum- 
ers as  the  plague,  and  chase  them  out  of  the  kingdom 
of  France,  sending  them  to  live  with  the  Turks  and 
infidels." 

The  only  result  of  the  proceeding  was  that  the  Par- 
lement  de  Paris  reaffirmed  the  decree  of  1535  requiring 
all  medical  books  to  be  submitted  to  the  Faculte  de 
Medecine  for  its  approval  before  publication.     Pare's 


112  AMBROISE  PARE 

book  was  already  on  sale  and  in  wide  circulation,  and  no 
further  steps  were  taken  against  its  author. 

Malgaigne  reviewing  the  meager  surgical  literature 
preceding  this  publication  of  Fare's  truthfully  states 
that  it  marks  an  epoch  in  surgery.  It  was  the  first  real 
surgical  treatise  which  had  appeared  since  that  of  Gui 
de  Chauliac,  and  what  a  difference  there  is  between  the 
two  authors — one  writing  at  the  time  when  the  Arabian 
influence  was  predominant,  the  other  at  the  epoch  of 
the  Renaissance!  Malgaigne  also  directs  attention  to 
the  attempt  made  by  Pare  in  introducing  the  part  on 
fevers,  etc.,  to  bring  medicine  and  surgery  once  more 
into  their  proper  relationship  to  one  another,  proving 
thereby  the  necessity  for  medical  training  on  the  part 
of  the  surgeons.  This,  as  Malgaigne  says,  was  a  really 
great  and  valuable  innovation.  Pare's  works  imme- 
diately assumed' the  position  to  which  they  were  justly 
entitled,  and  opened  a  new  era  for  surgery  by  reveal- 
ing to  the  surgical  world  the  value  of  personal  experi- 
ence combined  with  a  knowledge  of  the  science  of  sur' 
gery,  as  contrasted  with  the  slavish  submission  to  tra- 
ditional dogma  which  had  heretofore  prevailed.  He 
did  for  surgery  what  his  great  contemporary  Vesalius 
did  for  anatomy,  and  what,  intermixed  with  lamentable 
charlatanry,  his  other  contemporary,  Paracelsus,  strove 
to  do  for  medicine. 

In  the  second  edition  of  his  collected  works  which 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  113 

was  published  in  1579,  Pare,  evidently  in  deference  to 
the  Faculte  de  INIedecine,  did  away  with  his  separate 
book  on  fevers,  scattering  the  material  of  which  it  was 
composed  throughout  the  book  on  tumors.  He  added 
to  this  edition  a  treatise  on  animals,  a  discourse  on  dis- 
tillations, and  one  on  embalmment.  In  this  edition  he 
also  suppressed  the  passage  on  antimony  which  first 
appeared  in  his  treatise  on  the  plague  and  was  reprinted 
in  the  collected  edition  of  1575.  This  was  also  a  meas- 
ure intended  to  placate  the  Faculte  de  Medecine. 
Pare  added  a  paragraph  to  his  chapter  on  operations 
for  cataract  which  would  indicate  a  tendency  to  bow 
before  the  astrological  influence  still  prevailing  to  some 
extent  with  his  contemporaries.  He  states  that  one 
should  not  operate  for  cataract  except  at  the  waning 
of  the  moon,  at  a  time  when  there  is  no  thunder  or  light- 
ning in  the  sky,  and  when  the  sun  is  not  in  Aries, 
which  is  concerned  with  the  head.  Since  these  astro- 
logical precautions  were  not  advised  in  the  editions  of 
1561  nor  1575,  there  may  have  been  some  influence 
brought  to  bear  on  Pare  which  caused  their  insertion, 
as  one  gathers  from  other  portions  of  his  works  that  he 
had  but  little,  if  any,  belief  in  the  direct  influence  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  on  human  ailments.  It  may  be  re- 
called that  Catherine  de  Medici  believed  absolutely  in 
the  astrological  predictions  of  her  official  astrologer, 
Ruggieri,  and  took  but  few  important  steps  without 


114  AMBROISE  PARE 

first  consulting  him  as  to  what  the  stars  revealed  on 
the  project.  The  book  on  fevers  concluded  with  an 
apologetic  paragraph  in  which  Pare  protests  that  it  was 
not  ambition  to  show  off  his  learning  that  prompted  its 
composition,  because,  he  says,  all  that  is  good  in  the 
book  was  "compiled  by  me  from  good  physicians,  from 
whom,  after  God  I  hold  what  little  learning  I  have  in 
medicine  and  su^ge^5^" 

In  1580,  Monsieur  Christophe  Juvenal  des  Ursins 
sustained  a  fall  from  his  horse  and  was  badly  injured. 
Pare  was  seventy  years  old  but  when  sent  for  promptly 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  out  in  the  country  to  the 
place  where  the  injured  man  was  lying.  When  the 
patient  had  recovered,  he  asked  Pare  why  he  had  not 
given  him  mummy  for  his  wound.  This  request 
prompted  Pare  to  write  his  discourse  on  mummy  and 
unicorn's  hom,^^  in  which,  although  upwards  of  seventy 
years  old,  he  displays  a  vigor  and  esprit  fully  equal  to 
that  of  his  very  best  work.  These  two  remedies  were 
held  in  the  highest  esteem.  Mummy  was  a  resinous 
substance  which  purported  to  be  made  from  Egyptian 
mummies.  Unicorn's  horn  was  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  the  animal.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  generally 
made  from  elephant's  or  rhinoceros'  tusks.  It  was  sold 
for  a  most  enormous  price  and  its  use  was  chiefly  in  con- 
sequence  confined  to  the   noble   or  wealthy.     When 

'"Discourse  de  la  Mumie  et  de  la  Licorne,  Paris,  1582. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  115 

Henri  II  was  married  to  Catherine  de  Medici,  the 
bride's  uncle,  Pope  Clement  VII,  presented  Fran9ois 
I,  the  bridegroom's  father,  with  a  piece  of  the  horn  of 
a  unicorn,  beautifully  mounted  by  a  Milanese  gold- 
smith. This  horn  was  said  to  possess  the  power  of  de- 
stroying the  effects  of  poison  mixed  with  food.  In 
1557  when  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henri  II,  had  small- 
pox, the  Constable,  Anne  de  Montmorenci,  sent  to  Ma- 
dame d'Humeires,  who  had  charge  of  her,  "a  piece  of 
the  horn  of  a  unicorn,"  with  the  directions  that  it  was 
to  be  dissolved  "but  not  in  warm  water,"  and  admin- 
istered. 

JNIummy  was  greatly  sophisticated,  being  made 
from  all  sorts  of  resinous  substances.  Pare  says  that, 
according  to  some,  mummies  were  sometimes  made  "in 
our  France"  from  the  bodies  stolen  from  gallows;  but  he 
adds,  "Nevertheless  I  believe  that  they  are  as  good  as 
those  brought  from  Egypt;  because  they  are  none  of 
them  of  any  value.  Thereupon  we  will  send  them  back 
to  Egypt,  as  we  will  the  unicorn  to  inaccessible  des- 
erts." Pare  says  that  it  is  inconceivable  that  decom- 
posed bodies  are  of  any  use  as  remedies,  even  if  the 
true  mummy  were  obtainable.  As  to  unicorn's  horn, 
he  reports  that  there  is  no  proof  that  such  an  animal 
exists,  that  the  horn  on  the  market  may  be  any  kind 
of  ivory,  and  that  whatever  it  is,  there  is  absolutely  no 
medicinal  value  in  a  substance  so  perfectly  inert.    He 


ii6  AMBROISE  PARE 

quotes  ancient  authority,  Hippocrates  and  Galen,  to 
show  that  these  men  made  no  use  of  it,  and  that  the 
modern  physicians  of  whom  he  inquired  were  also  scep- 
tical. He  asked  Chapelain,  first  physician  to  Charles 
IX,  to  use  his  authority  to  abolish  the  custom  which 
prevailed  at  the  court  of  dipping  a  piece  of  unicorn's 
horn  in  the  king's  cup  before  he  drank  as  a  precaution 
against  possible  poison  in  his  drink.  Chapelain  re- 
plied that  although  he  did  not  believe  that  unicorn's 
horn  possessed  any  virtue,  he  dared  not  stop  the  prac- 
tice as  the  belief  was  rooted  in  the  minds  of  both  princes 
and  people,  adding  that  if  it  did  no  good  it  certainly 
did  no  harm  except  to  the  purse  of  those  who  pur- 
chased it. 

This  discourse  on  mummy  and  unicorn's  horn  pro- 
duced an  answer  from  an  anonymous  author,  but  bear- 
ing the  statement  that  it  had  been  "seen  and  approved 
by  M.  Grangier,  Dean  of  the  School  of  Medicine." 
The  author  advises  Pare  to  confine  himself  to  surgery 
as  when  he  goes  beyond  his  confines  the  little  children 
mock  at  him,  and  he  reproaches  him  with  inserting  pic- 
tures of  monsters  in  his  surgery  which  would  only  serve 
to  amuse  children.  He  adds  that  the  mere  fact  that 
they  conserved  at  St.  Denis  a  unicorn's  horn  for  which 
the  King  had  refused  one  hundred  thousand  crowns 
sufiiced  to  convince  him  of  its  usefulness,  and  that  Pare 
wronged  the  King  by  his  skepticism. 


The  Camphur,  a  Variety  of  the  Unicorn,  Said  to  Have 

Been  Found  in  Ethiopia. 

{Pare,  Edition  1585.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  119 

Pare  condescended  to  answer  his  anonymous  critic 
in  a  little  pamphlet,^^  in  which,  while  not  adding  any- 
thing new  to  his  arguments,  he  concludes  with  what 
Malgaigne  calls  this  charming  supplication,  "Only  I 
pray  him,  if  he  desires  to  oppose  any  argument  to  my 
reply,  that  he  will  quit  his  animosities  and  treat  more 
kindly  le  bon  viellard."  ^^ 

"  "Replique  d'Ambroise  Pare,  premier  chirurgien  du  roy,  a  la  response 
faicte  contra  son  discourse  de  la  licorne,"  1584. 

"Sir  Thomas  Browne  in  his  "Pseudodoxia  Epidemica  or  Vulgar  Er- 
rors," Book  III,  chap,  xxiii,  writes  at  length  of  unicorn's  horn.  Although 
he  states  his  belief  in  the  existence  of  such  an  animal,  he  then  pro- 
ceeds to  mention  that  the  substances  in  general  sold  for  it  are  derived 
from  an  innumerable  variety  of  sources  and  not  solely  even  from  horns. 
He  ascribes  to  Thomas  Bartholinus  of  Copenhagen  and  Olaus  Wormius 
the  credit  of  pointing  out  that  many  of  the  specimens  were  the  teeth  of 
the  narwhale,  and  continues,  "that  some  antidotal  quality  it  may  have, 
we  have  no  reason  to  deny;  for  since  elk's  hoofs  and  horns  are  magnified 
for  epilepsies,  since  not  only  the  bone  in  the  hart,  but  the  horn  of  the 
deer  is  alexipharmical  (antidotal  to  poisons),  an  ingredient  into  the  con- 
fection of  hyacinth,  and  the  electuary  of  Maximilian,  we  cannot  without 
prejudice  except  against  the  efficacy  of  this." 

Sir  Thomas  concludes:  "Since,  therefore,  there  be  many  unicorns;  since 
that  whereto  we  appropriate  a  horn  is  so  variously  described,  that  it 
seemeth  never  to  have  been  seen  by  two  persons,  or  not  to  have  been  one 
animal;  since  though  they  agreed  in  the  description  of  the  animal,  yet  is 
not  the  horn  we  extol  the  same  with  that  of  ancients;  since  what  horns  so 
ever  they  may  that  pass  among  us,  they  are  not  the  horn  of  one,  but 
several  animals;  since  many  in  common  use  and  high  esteem  are  no  horn 
at  all;  since  if  they  were  true  horns,  yet  might  their  virtues  be  ques- 
tioned; since  though  we  allowed  some  virtues,  yet  were  not  others  to  be 
received;  with  what  security  a  man  may  rely  on  this  remedy,  the  mistress 
of  fools  hath  already  instructed  some,  and  to  wisdom  (which  is  never  too 
wise  to  learn),  it  is  not  too  late  to  consider."  Sir  Thomas  mentions  the 
horn  of  St.  Denis,  saying  "that  famous  horn  which  is  preserved  at  St.  Denis^ 
near  Paris,  hath  wreathy  spires,  and  cochleary  turnings  about  it,  whicli 
agreeth  with  the  description  of  the  unicorn's  horn  in  Elian." 

The  "Encyclopedia  Britannica,"  Xllth  Edition  (Art.  Unicom),  states  that 
the  earliest  description  of  the  unicorn  is  given  by  Ctesias,  who  says  that 
there  were  in  India  white  wild  asses  celebrated  for  their  fleetness  of  foot, 
and  having  on  the  forehead  a  horn  a  cubit  and  a  half  in  length,  colored  white, 
red  and  black,  and  from  this  horn  were  made  drinking  cups  which  were 
antidotal  to  any  poison  put  in  them.  A  belief  in  its  antidotal  properties 
lingered  in  England  until  the  reign  of  Charles  II,  when  a  cup  made  of 
rhinoceros  horn  was  given  to  the  Royal  Society  to  investigate  its  prop- 
erties.    This  investigation  resulted  in  completely  proving  its  uselessness. 


120  AMBROISE  PARE 

In  1582  Jacques  Guillemeau  published  a  Latin  edi- 
tion of  Fare's  collected  works.  It  was  printed  in  Ger- 
many. The  Faculte  de  Medecine  tried  to  throw  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  it  but  their  opposition  came  to 
naught. 

In  1585  Pare  published  the  fourth  collected  edition  ^^ 
of  his  works,  the  last  to  appear  in  his  lifetime,  con- 
taining the  invaluable  addition  of  his  "Apology  and 
Journeys."  The  latter  book  was  written  because  of  an 
attack  made  on  Pare  by  Etienne  Gourmelen  in  his  book 
on  surgery.  Gourmelen  especially  attacked  Pare  for 
his  use  of  the  ligature  in  amputations.  We  have  seen 
how  Pare  demolished  him  and  we  should  be  devoutly 
thankful  to  the  stupid  dean  of  the  faculty  who  pro- 
voked him  to  reply. 

Gourmelen,  in  return  for  Pare's  counter-attack,  had 
one  of  his  pupils,  Comperat,  write  an  answer  to  Pare. 
It  consisted  chiefly  in  vituperation  but  it  also  contained 
some  serious  aspersions.  He  was  accused  of  having 
plagiarized  all  that  was  good  in  his  book  from  Gour- 
melen! As  he  did  not  know  Latin  he  was  accused  of 
"never  having  put  his  nose  in  a  notable  author."  The 
case  of  his  brother-in-law,  Gaspard  Martin,  master  bar- 
ber-surgeon of  Paris,  who  had  died  after  Pare  had  am- 
putated his  leg,  was  cited  as  an  instance  of  the  failure 

^Les  Oeuvres  d'Ambroise  Pare,  conseiUer  et  premier  chirurgien  du  roy, 
divisee  en  vingt-huict  livres  avec  les  figures — Revnaes  et  Augments  par 
I'auteur.    Quatrieme  edition,  a  Paris,  chez  Gabriel  Buon.     1585. 


^une 


The  Reduction  of  Dislocations  of  the  Shoulder. 
{Pard,  Edition  1585.) 


122  AMBROISE  PARE 

of  the  ligature.  Comperat  also  accused  Pare  of  having 
stated  in  his  book  on  "Generation"  that  he  had  removed 
the  uterus  of  a  patient,  when  after  her  death,  six  months 
later,  the  uterus  was  found  intact  at  the  autopsy.  Com- 
perat gives  the  names  of  the  physician  and  surgeon 
present  at  the  autopsy  and  states  that  Pare  had  never 
been  able  to  deny  the  facts.  Malgaigne  comments  that 
it  is  impossible  to  now  ascertain  the  truth  about  the 
case.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  Pare  was  in  error 
in  believing  that  he  had  removed  the  uterus,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  that  he  deliberately  lied.  Pare 
disdained  to  reply  to  this  veiled  attack  by  Gourmelen 
feeling  doubtless  that  he  had  said  enough  in  his 
"Apology." 

On  the  first  of  August,  1589,  Henri  III  was  stabbed 
to  death  by  Jacques  Clement,  a  monk.  The  court  was 
at  Saint  Cloud  whither  Pare  had  not  accompanied 
it,  so  that  although  he  still  held  the  position  of  premier 
chirurgien  du  Roy,  he  was  not  in  attendance  on  the 
king.  Antoine  Portail  was  with  the  wounded  man  in 
his  last  moments. 

Pare  was  in  Paris  when  that  city  was  besieged  by 
Henri  IV  in  1590.  Conditions  within  its  walls  were 
horrible.  Famine  prevailed.  As  many  as  two  hundred 
dead  bodies  were  found  in  the  streets  daily.  The  Lea- 
guers, the  name  by  which  the  Catholic  party  was  known, 
were  resolved  to  hold  out  against  the  King  of  Navarre 


The  Reduction  of  Dislocation  of  the  Shoulder 
{Pare,  Edition  1585) 


124  AMBROISE  PARE 

until  the  last  gasp.  The  city  was  blockaded,  rather 
than  besieged.  Henri  did  not  wish  to  shed  the  blood 
of  his  subjects  even  when  they  were  rebelling  against 
him.  The  pages  of  L'Estoile's  journal  reveal  the 
frightful  ravages  which  the  lack  of  food  produced  in 
the  city.  The  Spanish  ambassador,  Mendoza,  said  in 
public  that  when  there  was  no  more  flour  to  make  bread, 
which  threatened  to  be  the  case  in  a  few  days,  they 
should  grind  up  the  bones  of  the  dead  in  the  charnel 
houses  of  the  cemeteries,  soak  the  powder  in  water, 
and  cook  it.  A  month  later  this  expedient  was  actu- 
ally tried  but  all  those  who  ate  this  bread  made  from 
bone  dust,  died.  One  episode  during  this  famous  siege 
of  Paris  created  great  excitement  and  even  furnished 
some  amusement.  On  May  14,  1590,  all  the  religious 
orders  of  Paris  paraded  under  arms,  bishops,  priors, 
abbots,  monks,  and  seminarians,  singing  hymns  and 
every  now  and  then  firing  their  guns.  So  untrained 
were  they  in  the  management  of  their  weapons  that 
several  innocent  bj^standers  were  killed  by  these  mani- 
festations of  holy  zeal.  Many  pictures  are  extant  rep- 
resenting various  incidents  in  the  parade.  In  these 
straits  we  get  our  last  glimpse  of  Ambroise  Pare,  striv- 
ing as  always  to  help  others.  In  his  journal  Pierre  de 
L'Estoile  gives  the  following  account  of  a  meeting  be- 
tween the  Archbishop  of  Lyons,  one  of  the  chief 
Leaguers,  and  Pare: 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  125 

"I  remember  that  about  eight  or  ten  days  at  most 
before  the  raising  of  the  siege,  M.  de  Lyon,  passing 
at  the  end  of  the  Pont  Saint  Michel,  as  he  found  him- 
self besieged  by  a  crowd  of  mean  people,  dying  of  hun- 
ger, who  cried  to  him,  demanding  bread  or  death,  and 
he  not  knowing  how  to  despatch  them,  encountered 
Master  Ambroise  Pare,  who  said  loudly  to  him,  'Mon- 
seigneur,  these  poor  people  whom  you  see  here  about  you 
are  dying  of  the  cruel  rage  of  hunger,  and  demand  pity 
of  you.  For  God's  sake.  Monsieur,  give  it  to  them, 
if  you  would  have  God  countenance  you,  and  think  a 
little  of  the  dignity  in  which  God  has  placed  you,  and 
that  the  cries  of  these  poor  people  which  mount  to 
Heaven,  are  a  warning  that  God  sends  you,  to  think 
of  the  duties  of  your  charge,  for  which  you  are  respon- 
sible to  Him.  Therefore,  according  to  this,  and  by  the 
power  which  we  all  know  that  you  have,  procure  us 
peace,  and  give  us  wherewith  to  live,  because  the  poor 
people  can  no  longer  do  so.  See  you  not  that  Paris 
perishes  at  the  will  of  the  villains  who  wish  to  prevent 
the  peace  which  is  the  will  of  God?  Oppose  them  firmly, 
Monsieur,  taking  in  hand  the  cause  of  the  poor  afflicted 
people,  and  God  will  bless  and  repay  you.'  Monsei- 
gneur,  the  Archbishop,  said  nothing  or  next  to  nothing, 
except  that,  contrary  to  his  custom  he  was  patient  to 
hear  him  out  without  interruption,  and  he  said  after- 
wards that  this  good  man  had  altogether  astonished 


126  AMBROISE  PARE 

him;  and  again  that  this  was  a  different  sort  of  politics 
than  his  own,  but  that  he  had  awakened  him  and  made 
him  think  of  many  things." 

This  is  the  last  we  know  of  Pare  until  L'Estoile 
writes,  "Thursday,  twentieth  of  December,  1590,  the 
eve  of  Saint  Thomas,  died  at  Paris,  in  his  own  house 
Master  Ambroise  Pare,  surgeon  to  the  king,  aged 
eighty  years,  a  learned  man  and  the  chief  of  his  art; 
who,  in  spite  of  the  times,  had  always  talked  and  talked 
freely  for  peace  and  for  the  good  of  the  people,  that 
which  made  him  as  much  loved  by  the  good  as  he  was 
wished  evil  and  hated  by  the  wicked."  Pare's  body  was 
laid  to  rest  in  the  church  of  Saint  Andre  des  Arts  at 
the  foot  of  the  nave  near  the  tower. 


THE 
APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


THE  APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


CONTAINING 
THE  VOYAGES  MADE  INTO  DIVERS  PLACES 

By  Ambroise  Pare  of  Laval 

Councillor  and  Surgeon  to  the  King, 

RULY  I  have  not  put  my  hand  to 

the  pen  to  write  in  such  a  manner, 

had  it  not  been  that  some  have  im-  ^f  ^^f* 

the  A  aver- 

pudently  taxed  and  insulted  me,  and  sary  Ac- 
disgraced    me,    more    by    particular  ^^^^^j.  ^ 
hate,    than   by   any   good   zeal   they 
should  have  to  the  public,  concerning  my  manner  of 
tying  the  veins  and  arteries,  writing  that  which  fol- 
lows: 

Male  igitur  et  mmium  arroganter,  inconsultus  et 
temerarius  quidam,  vasorum  u^tionem  post  emortui 
memhri  resectionem,   a  veteribus  omnibus   plurimum  Words  of 

^  the 

commendatam,  et  semper  probatam,  damnare  ausus  est:  Adversary 
novum  quemdam  deligandi  vasa  modum,  contra  veteres 

129 


130  AMBROISE  PARE 

omnes  medicos  sine  ratione,  experientia  et  judicio,  do- 
cere  cwpiens,  nee  animadvertit  major  a  multo  pericula 
ex  ipsa  nova  vasorum  deligatione  (qtuam  acu  partem 
sanam  profunde  transfigendo  administrari  vult  im- 
minere,  quam  ex  ipsa  ustione:  Nam,  si  acu  neurosam 
aliquam  partem  vel  nervum  ipsum  pupugerit,  dum  ita 
novo  et  inusitato  modo  venam  ahsurde  conatur  con- 
stnngere,  nova  inflammatio  necessario  consequetur,  a 
qua  convulsio  et  a  convulsione  cita  mors.  Quorum  symp- 
tomatum  metu  Galenus  nan  ante  transuersa  vulnera 
suere  audehat  (quod  tamen  minus  erat  periculosum) 
quam  musculorum  aponeuroses  denudasset.  Adde  quod 
forcipeSj  quibus  post  sectionen  iterumi  carnem  dilacerat, 
cuTTi  retracta  versus  originem  vasa  se  posse  extrakere 
somniat,  non  minorem  afferunt  dolorem,  quam  ignita 
ferramenta  admota.  Quod  si  quis  novum  hunc  laniatum 
expertus  incolumis  evaserit,  is  Deo  optimo  maxima 
cuius  beneficentia,  crudelitate  ista  et  carnificina  liheratu^s 
est,  maximas  gratias  habere,  et  semper  agere  debet} 

Which  is  to  say:  "Badly  then  and  too  arrogantly, 
indiscreetly,  and  temerariously,  a  certain  personage  has 
wished  to  condemn  and  blame  the  cauterization  of  the 
vessels  after  the  amputation  of  a  corrupt  and  rotten 

^Malgaigne  states  that  this  Latin  text  is  copied  from  page  124  of 
Gourmelen's  book  "Stephani  Gourmeleni  Curiosititae  Parisiensis  medici 
Chirurgicae  artis,  ex  Hippocratis  et  alionim  veterum  Medicorum  decretis, 
ad  rationis  normam  redactae.    Libri  111." 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  131 

member,  much  praised  and  recommended  by  the  an- 
cients, and  always  approved,  wishing  and  desiring  to 
show  and  teach  us,  without  reason,  judgment  or  expe- 
rience, a  new  way  of  tying  the  vessels,  against  the 
opinion  of  all  the  ancient  physicians,  giving  no  cau- 
tion nor  advice  that  there  frequently  happen  many 
more  great  perils  and  accidents  from  this  new  fashion 
of  tying  the  vessels  (which  he  wishes  to  be  done  by  a 
needle  piercing  profoundly  the  healthy  part)  than  by 
burning  and  combustion  of  the  said  vessel.  Because, 
if  with  the  needle  one  should  prick  some  nervous  part, 
to  wit  even  the  nerve  itself,  when  he  wishes  by  this  new 
and  untried  means,  grossly  to  constrain  the  vein  in  ty- 
ing it,  necessarily  there  will  follow  a  new  inflammation, 
from  the  inflammation  a  convulsion,  from  the  convul- 
sion, death:  for  fear  of  which  accidents  Galen  never 
dared  to  stitch  transverse  wounds  (that  which  is  always 
less  dangerous)  before  uncovering  the  aponeuroses  of 
the  muscles.  Moreover,  this  the  forceps  with  which, 
after  the  section,  he  once  more  tears  the  flesh,  while  he 
thinks  it  possible  to  draw  forth  the  vessels  which  are 
drawn  back  towards  their  origin,  brings  no  less  pain 
than  the  hot  iron.  And  if  anyone  having  experienced 
this  new  fashion  of  cruelty,  has  recovered  from  it,  he 
should  render  thanks  to  God  forever,  by  the  goodness 
of  whom  he  has  escaped   such  cruelty,  feeling  rather 


132  AMBROISE  PARE 

his    executioner    than    his    methodical    chirurgeon."  ^ 

Oh,  what  beautiful  words!  for  an  aged  man,  who 

calls  himself  a  wise  doctor.     He  does  not  remember 

Response      that  his  white  beard  admonisheth  him  not  to  say  any- 

Author         thing  unworthy  of  his  years,  and  that  he  should  put  off 

and  drive  out  from  him  all  envy  and  rancor  conceived 

against  his  neighbor.    But,  now  I  wish  to  prove  to  him 

by  authority,  reason,  and  experience,  that  the  said  veins 

and  arteries  should  be  tied. 

Authorities^ 

As  to  authorities  I  will  come  to  that  of  that  grand 
man  Hippocrates,  who  wills  and  commands  the  recov- 
ery of  fistulas  of  the  fundament  by  ligature,  as  much  to 
absorb  the  callosity  as  to  avoid  hsemorrhage. 

Galen,  in  his  "Method,"  speaking  of  a  flow  of  blood 
made  by  an  external  cause,  of  whom  see  here  the  words : 
It  is  (saith  he)  most  sure  to  tie  the  root  of  the  vessel, 
which  I  understand  to  be  that  (part)  which  is  most 
near  to  the  liver  or  to  the  heart. 

Avicenna  commands  to  tie  the  vein  and  the  artery, 
after  having  uncovered  it  towards  its  origin. 

"Malgaigne  points  out  that  Pare  did  not  recommend  ligature  by  means 
of  a  needle,  although  he  mentions  it  as  a  means  which  could  be  employed 
in  some  cases.  Curiously  Par6  does  not  point  out  this  fact  in  reply  to 
Gourmelen. 

'Pare  gives  in  marginal  notes  the  exact  references  to  his  citations.  I 
have  omitted  these  references  in  most  instances  as  he  does  not  state  the 
edition  from  which  they  were  taken  and  hence  they  are  of  no  particular 
value  to  the  text. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  133 

Gui  de  Chauliac,  speaking  of  wounds  of  the  veins 
and  arteries,  enjoins  the  surgeon  to  make  the  ligature 
on  the  vessel. 

Monsieur  Hollier  in  Book  III,  chapter  5,  of  his 
"Matiere  du  Chirurgie,"  speaking  of  the  flow  of  blood, 
commands  expressly  to  tie  the  vessels. 


Bec  de  Corbin 

Calmetheus,  in  his  chapter  on  the  "Wounds  of  Veins 
and  Arteries,"  treats  of  a  very  sure  means  of  arresting 
the  flow  of  blood  by  ligature  of  the  vessels. 

Celsus,  from  whom  the  said  physician  hath  taken  the 
greater  part  of  his  book,  recommends  expressly  to  tie 
the  vessels  in  the  flow  of  blood  following  wounds  as  a 
very  easy  and  very  sure  remedy. 

Vesalius,  in  his  "Surgery,"  directs  that  the  vessels  be 
tied  in  a  flow  of  blood. 

Jean  de  Vigo,  treating  of  hgemorrhage  from  recent 
wounds,  commands  to  tie  the  vein  and  ^r.tery. 


134  AMBROISE  PARE 

Tagault,  treating  of  the  means  of  arresting  a  flow 
of  blood,  commands  to  pinch  the  vein  or  artery  with  a 
crow  beak,  or  a  parrot  beak,*  then  to  tie  it  with  a  strong 
enough  thread. 

Pierre  de  Argellata  of  Boulogne,  discoursing  of 
flow  of  blood  and  the  manner  of  arresting  it,  gives  a 
fourth  means  expressly,  which  is  done  by  ligature  of  the 
vessels. 

John  Andreas  a  Cruce,  a  Venetian,  makes  mention 
of  a  method  of  arresting  the  flow  of  blood  by  ligature 
of  the  vessels. 

D'Alechamp  commands  to  tie  the  veins  and  arteries. 

Now  there  see,  mon  petit  bonhomme,  the  authori- 
ties who  command  you  to  tie  the  vessels.  As  for  the 
reasons,  I  wish  to  discuss  them. 

Haemorrhage  is  not  so  much  to  be  feared  (say  you) 
in  the  section  of  the  epiploon,  as  in  that  of  varices,  and 
in  incision  of  the  temporal  arteries  as  after  the  ampu- 
tation of  a  member.  But  you  yourself  command  that 
in  cutting  varices,  one  arrest  the  flow  of  blood  by  liga- 
ture of  the  vessel.  You  command  the  same  speaking 
of  the  suture  with  the  amputation  and  section  of  the 
epiploon,  altered  by  the  surrounding  air.  Here  are 
your  words:  "After  that  it  is  necessary  to  advise  as  to 
the  epiploon,  that  if  there  is  any  part  corrupted,  putre- 

*Bec   de   Corhm  ou  de  Perroquet — ^instruments   very   like   our   modern 
hemostats. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  135 

fied,  withered  or  blackish:  first  having  tied  it  for  fear 
of  a  flow  of  blood,"  and  the  rest.  You  do  not  say, 
"after  having  cauterized  it,"  but  to  tell  the  truth  you 
have  your  eyes  shut  and  all  your  senses  dulled,  when 
you  have  wished  to  speak  against  so  sure  a  method, 
and  this  is  but  by  anger  and  ill-will;  because  there  is 
nothing  which  has  more  power  to  chase  the  reason  from 
its  seat,  than  anger  and  ill-will.  JVIoreover,  when  we 
come  to  cauterize  the  amputated  part,  most  frequently 
when  the  eschar  comes  to  fall  off,  there  follows  a  new 
flow  of  blood,  as  I  have  seen  many  times,  not  having 
been  yet  inspired  by  God  with  so  sure  a  means  then 
when  I  used  the  fire.  What  if  you  have  not  discovered 
or  understood  this  method  in  the  books  of  the  ancients, 
you  should  not  thus  trample  it  under  your  feet,  and 
speak  evil  of  one  who  all  his  life  has  preferred  the 
profit  of  the  public  to  his  own  particular.  Is  it  not 
more  than  reasonable  to  found  it  on  the  saying  of  Hip- 
pocrates, of  the  authority  of  whom  you  serve  yourself, 
which  is  this:  "That  what  the  medicament  cureth  not, 
the  iron  doth;  and  that  which  the  iron  amendeth  not, 
the  fire  extermineth"  ?  It  is  a  thing  which  savoureth  not 
of  Christianity  to  burn  all  at  the  first  blow,  without 
staying  oneself  to  more  gentle  remedies,  as  you  your- 
self write  in  Book  I,  page  5,  speaking  of  the  conditions 
required  in  a  surgeon  to  cure  well,  which  passage  you 
borrow  from  elsewhere;  for  that  which  may  be  done 


136  AMBROISE  PARE 

gently  without  fire,  is  much  more  commendable  than 
otherwise.  Is  it  not  a  thing  which  all  schools  hold  as 
an  axiom,  that  we  shall  always  commence  with  the  most 
easy  remedies?  And  if  they  are  not  sufficient  then 
one  will  come  to  extremes,  following  the  doctrines  of 
Hippocrates.  Galen  recommends  as  much  in  the  place 
before  alleged,  to  treat  the  sick  quickly,  safely,  and 
with  as  little  pain  as  one  can. 

L,et  Us  Come  Now  to  the  Proof 

Because  one  knows  not  how  to  apply  the  hot  irons 
but  with  an  extreme  and  vehement  pain,  in  a  sensitive 
part,  free  from  gangrene,  which  would  be  the  cause  of 
convulsion,  fever,  yea  ofttimes  of  death.  And  more- 
over it  would  be  a  long  time  afterwards  before  the  poor 
patients  would  be  cured,  because  by  the  action  of  the 
fire  there  is  made  an  eschar,  which  is  formed  from  the 
flesh  subjected  to  it,  which  being  fallen  off,  it  is  neces- 
Of  What      sary  that  Nature  regenerates  another  new  flesh  in  place 

the  Eschar  ^^  ^^^^  which  has  been  burned,  in  addition  the  bone  re- 
ts Made 

mains  bare  and  uncovered,  and  in  this  way  there  re- 
mains very  often  an  incurable  ulcer.  Again  there  is 
another  accident,  this  is,  that  ofttimes  the  eschar  falls, 
the  flesh  not  being  well  reformed,  the  blood  flows  from 
it,  as  much  as  or  more  than  before.  But  when  one  has 
tied  them  [the  vessels]  the  ligature  will  fall  off  only 
when  the  flesh  has  first  recovered  them  [the  vessels]. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  137 

Which  is  proved  by  Galen  in  the  fifth  book  of  hi§ 
Method,  sajang  that  escharotic  medicaments,  which 
form  crusts  [eschars]  whensoever  they  fall  away  leave 
the  part  more  bare  than  its  natural  habit  requires,  for 
the  generation  of  the  eschar  is  from  the  parts  under 
and  around  it  which  are  half  burned,  so  to  speak ;  where- 
fore by  as  much  as  the  part  is  burnt  by  so  much  it  loseth 
its  natural  heat. 

Now,  tell  me,  when  is  it  necessary  to  use  escharotic 
medicaments,  or  cauterizing  irons?  It  is  when  the  flow 
of  blood  is  caused  by  erosion,  or  by  gangrene  or  putre-  f^T^ 
faction.  But  is  this  so  regarding  recent  wounds  where  Adversary 
there  is  neither  gangrene  nor  putrefaction?  Ergo,  the 
cauteries  should  not  be  applied  to  them.  And  when 
the  ancients  have  commanded  to  apply  hot  irons  to  the 
mouth  of  vessels,  it  is  not  only  to  arrest  blood,  but 
chiefly  to  correct  the  malignity  or  gangrenous  putre- 
faction which  might  damage  the  neighboring  parts. 
And  it  is  necessary  to  note  here  that  if  I  had  known 
such  accidents  happen,  as  you  have  declared  in  your 
book,  in  drawing  forth  and  tying  the  vessels,  I  would 
never  have  been  twice  deceived,  and  would  not  have 
wished  to  leave  to  posterity  by  my  writings  any  such 
manner  of  arresting  the  flow  of  blood.  But  I  have  writ- 
ten it  after  having  seen  it  done,  and  that  many  times 
with  the  most  happy  success.  See  that  which  could  re- 
sult from  your  inconsiderate  counsel,  [given]  without 


138  AMBROISE  PARE 

examining  or  arresting  itself  on  the  cage  of  tying  the 

said  vessels.    For  see,  here  is  your  aim  and  proposition: 

Proposition  "To  tie  the  vessel  after  amputation  is  a  new  remedy," 

Yj  sav  vou,  "therefore  it  should  not  be  used."    This  is  badly 

Adversary  j  j       ^  j 

argued  for  a  doctor. 

As  to  that  which  is  necessary  (say  you) ,  "to  use  fire 
after  amputations  of  the  members,  in  order  to  consume 
and  check  the  putrefaction  which  is  common  to  gan- 
grenes and  mortifications,"  that  in  truth  hath  no  place 
here  because  the  practice  is  to  amputate  always  the  part 
above  that  [portion]  which  is  mortified  and  corrupted, 
as  wrote  and  commanded  Celsus,  to  perform  the  am- 
putation on  that  which  is  healthy,  rather  than  to  leave 
any  of  the  putrefied.  I  would  willingly  demand  of  you, 
if  when  a  vein  is  cut  transversely  and  has  retracted  it- 
self very  much  towards  its  origin,  you  would  not  scruple 
to  burn  until  you  had  found  the  orifice  of  the  vein  or 
artery,  and  if  it  is  not  more  easy  with  only  a  crow  beak 
to  seize  and  draw  forth  the  vessel  and  tie  it?  In  which 
you  show  openly  your  ignorance,  and  that  you  have 
your  mind  possessed  with  a  great  animosity  and  anger. 
We  see  practiced  every  day  with  the  happiest  success, 
the  said  ligature  of  the  vessel,  after  the  amputation  of 
a  part ;  that  which  I  wish  now  to  verify  by  experiences 
and  histories  of  those  on  whom  the  said  ligature  hath 
been  made  and  [the]  persons  yet  living. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  139 

Experience 

The  sixteenth  day  of  June,  1582,  in  the  presence 
of  Master  Jean  Liebault,^  doctor  in  the  Faculty  of 
Medicine  of  Paris,  Claude  Viard,^  sworn  surgeon  Operation 
\jchirurgien  juri'\,  Master  Mathurin  Huron,  surgeon  P^^formerf 
of  Monsieur  de  Souvray,  and  myself,  Jean  Charbon-  honnel 
nel,  master  barber-surgeon  of  Paris,  well  informed  in 
the  theory  and  practice  of  surgery,  with  great  dexterity 
amputated  the  left  leg  of  a  woman,  who  had  suffered 
more  than  three  years  day  and  night  from  extreme 
pain,  because  of  an  extensive  caries,  which  was  in  the 
OS  astragalus,  cuboide,  the  great  and  little  focil,  and 
through  all  the  nervous  parts.  She  was  named  Marie 
d'Hostel — aged  twenty-eight  years  or  thereabouts,  wife 
of  Pierre  Herve,  esquire  of  the  kitchen  of  Madame  the 
Duchess  of  Uzes,  dwelling  in  the  rue  des  Verbois,  be- 
yond Saint  Martin  des  Champs,  at  the  sign  of  the  Head 
of  Saint  John — from  whom  the  said  Charbonnel  cut  the 

^Liebault  was  admitted  to  the  doctorate  at  Paris  in  1561.  He  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Charles  Estienne,  the  publisher,  and  seems  to  have 
shared  in  some  of  his  father-in-law's  enterprises  and  to  have  been  affected 
by  the  latter's  ruin  when  he  failed.  Liebault  retired  to  Dijon  where  he 
died  June  21,  1596.  He  wrote  a  book  on  diseases  of  women,  and  another 
entitled  "Quatre  Livres  de  secrets  de  medecine."  Liebault  was  one  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  of  Paris  in  1578  to 
examine  the  works  of  Par6  when  he  applied  to  that  body  for  permission 
to  publish  the  second  edition.  The  publication  was  authorized  but  none 
too  graciously. 

"Viard  or  Viart  was  Par6's  pupil  and  assistant  for  twenty  years.  In 
1577  he  married  Jeanne  Par6,  the  orphan  daughter  of  Pare's  brother  Jean, 
who  had  been  adopted  by  Ambroise  Pare  and  who  lived  in  his  house. 
Viard  died  about  1583,  and  five  years  later  his  widow  married  Francois 
Forest. 


140  AMBROISE  PARE 

leg  at  four  large  finger-breadths  below  the  knee;  and 
after  he  had  incised  the  flesh  and  sawn  the  bone,  he 
gripped  the  vein  with  the  crow's  beak,  then  the  artery, 
then  tied  them :  of  which  I  protest  to  God  ( as  the  com- 
pany which  were  there  can  testify)  that  in  the  whole 
operation,  which  was  quickly  done,  there  was  not  lost 
a  porringer  of  blood,  and  I  directed  the  said  Charbon- 
nel  to  let  it  bleed  more,  following  the  precept  of  Hip- 
pocrates, that  it  is  good  to  let  the  blood  flow  in  all 
wounds  and  ulcers,  even  inveterate,  as  by  this  means 
the  part  is  less  subject  to  inflammation.  The  said  Char- 
bonnel  continued  to  treat  and  dress  her,  who  was  cured 
in  two  months,  without  there  ever  supervening  any 
haemorrhage  or  flow  of  blood,  nor  any  other  evil  acci- 
dent, and  she  went  to  see  you  in  your  house,  being  per- 
fectly recovered. 

Another  history  of  recent  memory  of  a  singing  man 
of  Notre  Dame,  named  Monsieur  Paulain,  who  broke 

Another 

history  both  bones  of  the  leg ;  these  were  crushed  in  many  pieces 
in  such  a  manner  that  there  was  no  hope  of  curing  him. 
To  avoid  gangrene  and  mortification  and  by  conse- 
quence death,  Monsieur  Helin,  doctor  regent  in  the 
Faculty  of  Medicine,  a  man  of  honor  and  good  skill, 
Claude  Viard,  and  Simon  Pietre,^  sworn  surgeons  of 

'Pietre  was  the  father-in-law  of  Jean  Riolan.  He  was  a  Protestant 
and  escaped  the  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew  only  because  he  received 
timely  warning  from  Riolan  and  was  able  to  conceal  himself  in  the  abbey 
of  Saint  Victor.  He  was  present  when  Par6  performed  the  autopsy  on 
Charles  IX.     He  died  in  1584. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  141 

Paris,  men  much  experienced  in  surgery,  and  Balthasar 
de  Lestre  and  Leonard  de  Leschenal,  master  barber- 
surffeons,  also  much  experienced  in  the  operations  of  Operation 

°  .  .  .       hy  Viard 

surgery,  were  all  of  the  opinion,  that  to  obviate  the 
aforesaid  accidents,  it  was  necessary  to  make  entire  am- 
putation of  the  leg,  a  little  above  the  broken  and  splin- 
tered bones,  and  lacerated  nerves,  veins  and  arteries. 
The  operation  was  dexterously  performed  by  the  said 
Viard,  and  the  blood  staunched  by  the  ligature  of  the 
vessels,  in  the  presence  of  the  said  Helin^  and  of  Mon- 
sieur Tonsard,  Grand  Vicar  of  Notre  Dame.  He  was 
constantly  dressed  by  the  said  Leschenal,  and  I  went 
occasionally  to  see  him.  He  was  happily  cured  without 
the  application  of  hot  irons,  and  went  his  way  gaily  on 
a  wooden  leg. 

In  the  year  1583,^  the  tenth  day  of  December, 
Toussaint  Posson,  native  of  Roinville,  at  present  dwell-  jii^i^jl^ 
ing  at  Beauvais  near  Dourdan,  having  his  leg  all  ul- 
cerated, and  all  the  bones  carious  and  rotten,  besought 
me  that  for  the  honor  of  God  I  would  amputate  his  leg, 
because  of  the  great  pain  which  he  could  no  longer  bear. 
After  being  prepared,  I  had  his  leg  amputated  four 
fingers  below  the  rotula  [patella]  of  the  knee,  by 
Daniel  Poullet,  one  of  my  servitors,  to  teach  him  and 
embolden  him  to  do  such  work,  where  he  tied  very  dex- 

*Le  Paulmier  directs  attention  to  the  date  of  this  operation  as  indi- 
cating that  even  at  his  then  advanced  age  of  seventy-three  years  Par6 
was  yet  in  active  practice. 


142  AMBROISE  PARE 

terously  the  vessels  in  order  to  staunch  the  blood,  with- 
out the  application  of  hot  irons,  and  in  the  presence  of 
Jacques  Guillemeau,^  surgeon  in  ordinary  to  the  king, 
and  Jean  Charbonnel,  master  barber-surgeon  in  Paris. 
During  his  cure  he  was  seen  and  visited  by  JNIessieurs 
Laffile  and  Courtin,"  doctors  regent  in  the  Faculty  of 
Medicine  of  Paris. 

The  said  operation  was  performed  in  the  house  of 
Jean  Gohel,  innkeeper,  dwelhng  at  the  sign  of  the 
White  Horse  in  the  Greve." 

I  do  not  wish  to  forget  to  say  here  that  Madame  la 
Princesse  de  Montpensier,  knowing  that  he  was  poor, 
and  that  he  would  be  in  my  hands,  gave  him  the  money 
to  pay  for  his  chamber  and  nourishment.  He  was  well 
cured,  thank  God,  and  returned  to  his  home  with  a 
wooden  leg. 


•Jacques  Guillemeau  was  born  at  Orleans  in  1550,  according  to  Le 
Paulmier,  of  a  family  of  surgeons.  He  was  a  favorite  and  worthy  pupil 
of  Fare's,  living  in  his  house  for  many  years.  Guillemeau  had  a  dis- 
tinguished career.  He  was  chirurgien  ordinaire  to  Henri  III,  Henri  IV, 
and  Louis  XIII.  He  died  March  13,  1612.  He  was  a  faithful  adherent 
of  Ambroise  Pare  in  his  several  quarrels  with  the  surgeons.  In  1581  he 
published  the  works  of  Pare  translated  into  Latin,  which  involved  him  in 
a  dispute  with  the  surgeons  on  his  own  account  as  he  was  accused  by  them 
of  using  a  translation  made  by  a  physician,  and  not  by  himself,  as  claimed 
on  the  title  page.  Guillemeau  in  the  preface  states  that  the  translation 
was  in  fact  made  by  a  friend  who  did  not  wish  his  name  to  appear. 
Gui  Patin  says  the  translator  was  Hautin. 

^"Germain  Courtin  lectured  on  surgery  in  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  of 
Paris.  He  would  not  seem  to  have  been  liberally  inclined  towards  the 
surgeons  as,  according  to  Le  Paulmier,  he  caused  a  decree  to  be  issued 
forbidding  them  to  give  courses  on  anatomy. 

"Place  du  Greve, 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  143 

Another  History/ 

A  gangrene  occurred  in  half  of  the  leg  of  one  named 
Nicolas  Mesnager,  aged  seventy-six  years,  dwelling  in 
the  Rue  Saint  Honore  at  the  sign  of  the  Basket,  which 
happened  to  him  from  an  internal  cause  so  that  one  was 
constrained  to  amputate  the  leg  to  save  his  life.  It  was  jj^^^f"^ 
amputated  by  Antoine  Renaud,  master  barber-surgeon  antecedent 
of  Paris,  the  sixteenth  day  of  December  1583,  in  the 
presence  of  Messieurs  Le  Fort  ^^  and  La  Noiie,^^  sworn 
surgeons  of  Paris.  And  the  blood  was  staunched  by 
hgature  of  the  vessels,  and  he  is  at  present  recovered, 
and  in  good  health,  walking  with  a  wooden  leg. 

Another  History 

A  waterman  at  the  Porte  de  Nesle,  dwelling  near 
Monsieur  de  Mas,  controller  of  Posts,  named  Jean 
Bousserau,  with  whom  an  arquebus  broke  in  his  hand,  '^^^^y 
which  entirely  shattered  the  bone  and  tore  all  the  other 
parts,  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  needful  and  necessary 
to  make  an  amputation  of  the  arm.    Which  was  done 

1        T  ^     -n  •  T  Operation 

by  J  acques  Guillemeau,  at  present  surgeon  m  ordmary  hy 

to  the  king,  who  was  dwelling  then  with  me.     The  GmlUmeau 

"Rodolphe  Le  Fort  was  distinguished  for  the  zeal  with  which  he  stood 
up  for  the  rights  of  the  surgeons.     He  died  in  1606. 

^'Jerome  La  Noiie,  son  of  Mathurin  La  Noiie,  a  distinguished  sur- 
geon, was  one  of  the  most  enflnent  surgeons  of  his  day.  He  served  in  this 
capacity  Catherine  de  Medici,  Charles  IX,  Henry  IH,  and  Henry  IV. 
He  died  in  1628.  Le  Paulmier  states  that  he  left  a  manuscript  containing 
the  most  valuable  material  relating  to  the  history  of  surgery  which  is 
preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  at  Paris.  _j 


144 


AMBROISE  PARE 


Operation 
by   the 
Author 


Another 
history 


operation  was  likewise  dexterously  performed,  and  the 
blood  staunched  by  ligature  of  the  vessels,  without  the 
burning  irons.    He  is  still  at  present  living. 

Another  History 

A  merchant  grocer,  living  in  the  rue  Saint  Denis, 
at  the  sign  of  Le  Gros  Tournois,  named  Le  Juge,  who 
fell  upon  his  head  where  was  made  a  wound  near  the 
temporal  muscle,  where  he  had  an  artery  opened,  from 
which  the  blood  poured  forth  very  impetuously,  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  ordinary  measures  for  staunching  the 
blood  would  not  serve.  I  was  called  thither  where  I 
found  Messieurs  Rasse,  Cointeret,^*  Viard,  sworn 
surgeons  of  Paris,  staunching  the  blood;  where 
promptly  I  took  a  threaded  needle  and  tied  the  artery 
for  him,  and  there  was  no  bleeding  afterwards  and  he 
was  soon  cured.  Witness  for  it  will  be  Monsieur  Rous- 
selet,  not  long  since  dean  of  your  faculty,  who  treated 
him  with  us. 

Another  History 

A  sergeant  of  the  Chatelet,  dwelling  near  Saint 
Andre  des  Arts,  who  had  a  sword  thrust  in  the  throat 
at  the  Pre  Aux  Clercs,^^  which  cut  completely  through 
the  external  jugular  vein,  as  soon  as  he  was  wounded 

"Jean  Cointeret,  a  native  of  Paris,  was  one  of  the  sworn  surgeons  of 
the  king  at  the  Chatelet.  He  was  present  when  Par^  made  an  autopsy  on 
the  body  of  Charles  IX.     He  died  May  13th,  1592. 

^Meadow  of  the  Clerks.  This  was  a  great  place  for  duels  and  brawls. 
It  was  located  near  Saint  Germain  Aux  Pr6. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  145 

he  placed  his  handkerchief  on  the  wound  and  sought  me 
at  my  house.  When  he  hfted  his  handkerchief,  the 
blood  spouted  forth  with  great  impetuosity.  I  at  once 
tied  the  vein  towards  its  root.  By  this  means  it  was 
staunched  and  he  was  cured,  thanks  to  God.  But  if 
one  had  followed  your  manner  of  staunching  the  blood 
by  the  cauteries,  I  leave  it  to  be  thought  if  he  would 
have  recovered.  I  believe  he  would  have  died  in  the 
hands  of  the  operator. 

If  I  wished  to  recite  all  those  on  whom  one  has  tied 
the  vessels  to  staj^  the  blood,  which  have  been  cured,  I 
should  not  have  ended  this  long  time,  but  meseems  that 
here  are  enough  of  histories  recited  to  make  you  believe 
that  one  can  surely  stay  the  blood  from  veins  and  arter- 
ies without  applying  the  actual  cauteries. 

He  who  doth  strive  against  experience 

Is  not  Tvorthy  to  discourse  of  high  science.^^ 

Du  Bartas. 

But,  mon  petit  maistre,  as  to  that  that  you  reproach 
me,  that  I  have  not  described  in  my  works,  all  the  opera- 
tions of  surgery  which  the  ancients  wrote  of,  I  would 
be  very  sorry  for  it  if  I  had  done  so,  for  then  you  could 
with  good  right  call  me  carnifex.  I  have  left  them  be- 
cause they  are  too  cruel,  and  have  wished  to  follow  the 
moderns  who  have  moderated  such  cruelty,  that  which 
notwithstanding  you  have  followed  step  by  step  as  ap- 

^'Celuy  la  qui  combat  centre  I'experience, 
N'est  digne  du  discours  d'une  haute  science. 


146  AMBROISE  PARE 

pears  from  the  operations  here  written,  extracted  from 
your  book  which  you  have  drawn  here  and  there  from 
certain  ancient  authors,  such  as  follow,  and  which  you 
have  never  practiced  nor  seen. 

First  Operation 

For  inveterate  fluxions  of  the  eyes  and  for  migraines, 
Paulus  Aegineta  as  also  Albucasis  command  to  make 
arteriotomy,  of  which  Aegineta  see  here  the  words: 
"It  is  necessary  to  mark  the  arteries  which  are  behind 
the  ears,  then  sever  them  cutting  down  to  the  bone,  and 
make  a  great  incision  (the  breadth)  of  two  fingers"; 
that  which  also  ordains  Aetius  but  (directs)  that  the 
incision  should  be  made  transversely  cutting  or  incising 
the  length  of  two  large  fingers,  until  one  has  found 
the  artery,  as  you  command  to  be  done  in  your  book. 
But  I  holding  with  Galen  who  commands  to  dress  the 
sick  quickly,  safely,  and  with  as  little  pain  as  possible, 
teach  the  young  surgeons  the  means  of  remedying  such 
evils  by  opening  the  arteries  behind  the  ears  and  those 
of  the  temples,  with  only  one  incision  as  in  letting  blood, 
and  not  to  make  a  great  incision  and  (thereby)  cut  out 
work  for  a  long  time. 

Second  Operation 

For  fluxions  which  are  made  for  a  long  time  on 
the  eyes  Paulus  Aegineta  and  Albucasis  order  an  in- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  147 

cision  made  which  they  call  periscythismos,  or  angiology 
of  the  Greeks,  and  here  are  the  words  of  Paul:  "In 
this  operation  first  the  head  is  shaved,  then  guarding 
against  touching  the  temporal  muscles,  a  transverse 
incision  is  made  commencing  at  the  left  temple  and 
finishing  at  the  right."  This  you  have  put  in  your  book 
word  for  word,  without  changing  anything,  which 
shows  openly  that  you  are  a  true  plagiarist,  as  one  can 
see  in  your  chapter  which  j^ou  call  the  "crown"  cut, 
which  is  made  in  a  demicircle  under  the  coronal  suture, 
from  one  temple  to  the  other,  down  to  the  bone.  But  I 
do  not  teach  any  remedy  so  cruel,  but  teach  the  opera- 
tor by  reason,  authority,  and  notable  proofs,  of  a  sure 
means  of  remedying  such  affections  without  thus  butch- 
ering men. 

Third  Operation 

In  the  cure  of  empyema  Paulus  Aegineta,  Albuca- 
sis,  and  Celsus  command  to  apply  some  thirteen  cauter- 
ies, others  fifteen  cauteries  to  give  issue  to  the  pus  con- 
tained in  the  thorax,  as  the  said  Celsus  in  the  aforesaid 
place,  ordered  for  asthmatics;  which  is  a  thing  (saving 
their  honor),  beyond  all  reason,  since  the  surgeon's  aim 
is  to  give  issue  to  the  matter  contained  therein,  there  is 
no  other  question  but  of  making  an  opening  to  evacuate 
the  matter  in  the  most  inferior  part.  I  have  shown 
the  young  surgeon  the  method  of  doing  this  safely  with- 
out tormenting  the  patient  for  nothing. 


148  AMBROISE  PARE 

Fourth  Operation 

For  breasts  that  are  too  large,  Paulus  Aegineta 
and  Albucasis  command  to  make  a  cruciform  incision, 
to  take  out  all  the  fat,  then  join  the  wound  by  suture: 
Briefly  this  is  to  slay  a  man  alive,  that  which  I  have 
never  practiced  nor  counsel  it  to  be  done  by  the  sur- 
geon. 

Fifth  Operation 

Albucasis  and  Paulus  Aegineta  would  cauterize  the 
liver  and  spleen  with  hot  irons,  which  the  modern  have 
never  practiced,  for  indeed  reason  manifestly  repugns 
it. 

Sixth  Operation 

In  the  paracentesis  which  is  made  in  the  third  kind 
of  dropsy  called  ascites,  Celius  Aurelianus  command- 
eth  to  make  many  openings  in  the  belly.  Albucasis 
applies  nine  actual  cauteries,  to  wit  four  about  the 
navel,  one  on  the  stomach,  one  on  the  spleen,  one  on 
the  liver:  two  on  the  back  near  the  vertebree,  one  of 
them  near  the  breast,  the  last  near  the  stomach. 
Aetius  is  likewise  of  the  same  will  to  open  the  belly 
with  many  cauteries.  Paulus  Aegineta  commands  to 
apply  five  actual  cauteries  to  make  the  said  paracen- 
tesis. But  abhorring  such  a  manner  of  burning  of 
which  you  speak  much  in  your  third  book,  I  show  an- 
other kind  of  practice  which  is  done  by  making  a  simple 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  149 

incision  in  the  said  belly,  as  may  be  seen  in  my  works 
with  happy  success.  I  do  not  show  young  men  in  my 
works  the  manner  of  burning  which  the  ancients  have 
called  infibulare,  because  that  is  not  practiced  although 
Celsus  writes  of  it. 

Seventh  Operation 

In  the  sciatica  proceeding  from  an  internal  cause  in- 
asmuch as  the  mucosities  (vicious  humors)  displace  the 
bones  from  their  place,  Paul  directs  to  burn  the 
said  joint  down  to  the  bone.  Dioscorides  commands  the 
same,  which  I  do  not  find  expedient  taking  indication 
from  the  subjacent  parts,  for  there,  where  one  would 
burn,  it  is  in  the  place  of  four  twin  muscles,  beneath 
which  passeth  the  great  nerve  descending  from  the 
sacrum,  which  being  burnt,  I  leave  it  to  you  to  think 
what  would  happen,  as  Galen  remarked,  expressly  talk- 
ing of  the  ustion  which  it  is  necessary  to  make  on  the 
humerus. 

Eighth  Operation 

In  outward  dislocation  of  the  vertebrse,  Hippocrates 
commands  to  bind  the  man  straight  on  a  ladder,  the 
arms  and  legs  tied  and  bound,  then  after  having  raised 
the  ladder  to  the  top  of  a  tower,  or  the  ridge  of  a  house, 
with  a  great  cable  in  a  pulley,  let  the  patient  fall  like 
lead  on  the  firm  pavement,  which  Hippocrates   said 


150  AMBROISE  PARE 

was  done  in  his  time.  But  I  do  not  teach  any  such  way 
of  giving  the  strappado  to  men,  but  I  show  to  the  sur- 
geon in  my  works,  the  method  of  reducing  them  safely 
and  without  great  pain. 

Moreover,  I  would  be  sorry  to  follow  the  saying 
of  the  said  Hippocrates  in  the  third  book  of  "De  Mor- 
bis,"  where  he  directs  that  in  the  disease  called  volvulus 
it  is  necessary  to  blow  up  the  belly  with  a  bellows,  put- 
ting the  nozzle  in  the  rectum,  then  blowing  until  the 
belly  becomes  much  stretched,  afterwards  giving  an 
emollient  clyster,  and  stopping  the  fundament  with  a 
sponge.  Such  practice  is  not  made  to-day,  therefore 
marvel  not  that  I  have  not  cared  to  speak  of  it. 

And  you  not  being  content  with  rhapsodizing  the 
operations  of  the  aforesaid  authors,  have  also  taken 
much  from  my  works  as  every  man  may  know,  which 
showeth  f^enly  that  there  is  nothing  of  your  invention 
in  your  "Guide  to  Surgeons." 

I  leave  aside  another  infinity  of  useless  operations 
which  you  quote  in  your  book,  without  knowing  how 
stupid  they  are,  never  having  seen  them  practiced,  but 
because  you  Jiave  found  them  written  in  the  books  of 
the  ancients,  you  have  put  them  in  your  book. 

Moreover,  you  say  that  you  will  show  me  my  lesson 
in  the  operations  of  surgery.  It  seems  to  me  that  you 
will  not  know  how,  because  I  have  not  learned  them  only 
in  my  study  and  by  hearing  through  many  and  divers 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  151 

years  the  lectures  of  doctors  in  medicine,  but,  as  I  have 
written  before  in  my  "Epistle  to  the  Reader,"  I  had 
made  my  residence  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  of  Paris  for  the 
space  of  three  years,  where  I  had  the  means  to  see  and 
learn  many  of  the  works  of  surgery  on  an  infinity  of 
sick,  together  with  anatomy  on  a  great  number  of  dead 
bodies,  as  I  have  oftentimes  made  very  sufficient  proof 
publicly  in  the  schools  of  medicine  of  Paris.  My  good 
fortune  has  made  me  see  yet  much  more.  For  being 
called  to  the  service  of  the  kings  of  France  (four  of 
whom  I  have  served)  I  have  found  myself  in  company 
in  battle  skirmishes,  assaults  and  sieges  of  cities  and 
fortresses,  as  also  I  have  been  shut  up  in  cities  with 
the  besieged,  having  charge  of  treating  the  wounded. 
Moreover,  I  have  dwelt  long  years  in  this  great  and 
famous  city  of  Paris,  where,  thanks  be  to  God,  I  have 
always  lived  in  very  good  reputation  with  all  men,  and 
have  never  held  the  last  rank  among  those  of  my  estate, 
seeing  that  there  was  never  found  any  cure,  was  it  never 
so  difficult  nor  great,  that  my  hand  and  my  counsel  have 
not  been  required,  as  I  make  seen  by  this  work.  Now 
dare  you  (these  things  being  understood)  say  that  you 
will  teach  me  the  works  of  surgery,  seeing  that  you 
have  never  gone  forth  from  your  study? 

The  operations  of  the  same  are  four  in  general  (as 
we  have  heretofore  declared)  where  you  make  of  them 
but  three;  to  wit,  to  join  the  separated,  to  separate  the 


152  AMBROISE  PARE 

continuous,  and  to  remove  the  superfluous:  and  the 
fourth  that  I  make  is  as  necessary  as  a  useful  inven- 
tion, to  adjust  that  which  is  in  default,  as  I  have  demon- 
strated heretofore. 

Also  you  wish  that  the  surgeon  should  only  perform 
the  three  operations  aforesaid,  without  undertaking  to 
order  a  simple  cataplasm,  saying  it  is  that  which  comes 
to  your  part  of  Medicine,  and  that  the  ancients  (in  the 
discourse  which  you  have  made  to  the  reader)  have 
divided  the  followers  of  medicine  into  three  groups, 
to  wit,  the  dieticians,  the  apothecaries,  and  the  surgeons. 
But  I  would  gladly  ask  of  you  who  hath  made  the 
partition,  and  [decided]  where  anything  should  be 
done,  who  are  those  which  are  content  with  their  part, 
without  some  enterprise  on  the  other?  For  Hippo- 
crates, Galen,  Aetius,  Avicenna,  in  brief  all  the  physi- 
cians, as  well  Greeks,  Latins,  and  Arabians,  have 
never  treated  of  the  one  but  that  they  have  treated  of 
the  other,  for  the  great  affinity  and  tie  that  there  is  be- 
tween the  two,  and  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  do  other- 
wise. Now  when  you  wish  to  put  surgery  so  low,  you 
contradict  yourself,  for  in  your  prefatory  epistle  that 
you  dedicated  to  the  late  Monsieur  de  Martigues,  you 
say  that  surgery  is  the  most  noble  part  of  physick,  as 
well  by  reason  of  its  origin,  antiquity,  necessity,  as  by  the 
certainty  in  its  actions,  because  it  operates  "luce 
operta,"  as  learnedly  writes  Celsus  at  the  commence- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  153 

ment  of  the  seventh  book.  Therefore,  it  is  to  be  be- 
lieved that  you  have  never  gone  from  your  study  except 
to  teach  the  theory  (if  you  have  been  able  to  do  it) . 

The  operations  of  surgery  are  learnt  by  the  eye 
and  by  the  touch. 

I  will  say  you  are  like  a  young  lad  of  Low  Brittany, 

Good 

plump  buttocked  and  thickset,  who  demanded  leave  of  similitude 
his  father  to  come  to  Paris  to  learn  French.  When  he 
arrived,  the  organist  of  Notre  Dame  found  him  at  the 
gate  of  the  Palace,  and  took  him  to  blow  the  organ, 
where  he  was  three  years.  Finding  he  could  speak 
French  somewhat,^^  he  returned  to  his  father  telling 
him  that  he  spoke  good  French,  and,  moreover,  that 
he  knew  how  to  play  well  on  the  organ.  His  father  re- 
ceived him  very  joyfully,  because  he  was  so  wise  in  so 
short  a  time.  He  went  to  the  organist  of  their  great 
church,  and  prayed  him  to  permit  his  son  to  play  on  the 
organ,  to  the  end  that  he  might  know  if  his  son  was  as 
good  a  master  as  he  said  he  was.  Which  the  master  or- 
ganist accorded  willingly.  Coming  to  the  organ  he 
threw  himself  with  a  great  leap  to  the  bellows.  The 
master  organist  bade  him  play  and  that  he  would  blow 
for  him.  Then  this  good  organist  said  to  him  that  he 
knew  nothing  else  than  how  to  blow.    I  believe  likewise, 

"The  Low  Bretons  speak  a  Celtic  patois  very  dissimilar  to  French  as 
spoken  in  Paris.  In  the  time  of  Par6  the  difficulty  of  communication  be- 
tween the  different  parts  of  France  made  the  difference  even  more  marked 
than  at  a  later  period. 


154  AMBROISE  PARE 

mon  petit  mcdstre,  that  you  know  nothing  else  but  to 
cackle  in  a  chair,  but  I  will  play  on  the  keys  and  make 
the  organs  resound,  that  is  to  say  that  I  will  perform 
the  operations  of  surgery,  that  which  you  know  not  at 
all  how  to  do,  because  you  have  not  budged  from  your 
study  and  the  schools,  as  I  have  said.  And  likewise  as 
I  have  before  written  in  the  "Eipistle  to  the  Reader," 
that  the  laborer  talks  in  vain  of  the  seasons,  discoursing 
of  the  manner  of  cultivating  the  earth,  to  show  what 
seeds  are  proper  to  each  soil,  but  all  that  is  nothing  if 
he  put  not  his  hand  to  the  tools  and  couples  not  the 
oxen  together,  and  harnesses  them  to  the  plough.  How- 
ever, this  would  be  no  great  thing  if  you  know  not  the 
practice,  because  a  man  may  do  good  surgery,  although 
he  had  no  tongue,  as  Cornelius  Celsus  hath  well  noted 
(in  book  I)  when  he  says,  "Morbos  non  eloquentia,  sed 
remediis  cur  art:  quce  si  quis  elinguis,  usu  discretus  bene 
norit,  htmc  aliquanto  majorem  medicv/m  futurum,  quam 
si  sine  iisu  linguam  siuim  excoluerit"  That  is  to  say 
Cornelius  Celsus  said,  "Diseases  are  cured  not  by  elo- 
quence, but  by  remedies  well  and  duly  apphed,  which 
if  any  sage  and  discreet  man,  though  he  have  no  tongue, 
know  well  the  proper  usage,  he  shall  become  a  greater 
physician,  than  if  without  practice,  he  ornamented  well 
his  language."  Which  you  yourself  confess  in  your 
said  book  by  a  quatrain  which  is  thus: 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  155 

Ce  n'est  pas  tout   en  Chirurgie 
De  jargonner:  mais  le  plus  beau 
Est  que  les  bandes  on  manie, 
Le  feu,  les  las,  et  les  ciseaux}^ 

Aristotle  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  first  book  of  his 
"Metaphysics"  says  experience  is  ahnost  Hke  science, 
and  by  it  art  and  science  have  been  invented,  and  in 
fact  we  see  those  who  are  experienced  attain  sooner  to 
that  which  they  intend,  than  those  who  have  reason 
without  experience,  because  the  said  experience  is  a 
knowledge  of  things  singular  and  individual,  and 
science  on  the  contrary  a  knowledge  of  things  universal. 
But  that  which  is  individual  is  more  healable  than  that 
which  is  universal.  Therefore  those  who  have  experi- 
ence are  more  sage  and  more  esteemed,  than  those  who 
are  in  default  of  it,  because  they  know  that  which  they 
do.    Moreover,  I  say  that 

Science  without  experience 
Yields  not  great  assurance. 

Alciat,  a  Milanese  doctor,  boasted  one  day  that  his 
glory  was  greater  and  more  illustrious  than  that  of 
counsellors,  presidents,  and  masters  or  requests  because 
he  said  he  made  them  and  that  it  was  by  him  that  they 

"As  rendered  by  Johnson: 

To  talk's  not  all  in  Chirurg'ions  Art, 
But  working  with  the  hands; 
Aptly  to  dresse  each  greeved  part. 
And  guide,  fire,  knife  and  bands. 
Malgaigne  in  a  footnote  points  out  that  Pare  is  mistaken  in  attributing 
this  quatrain  to  Gourmelen.     It  was  after  the  title  of  the  book  in  Courtin's 
translation  of  Gourmelen's   work,   and   is   accompanied  by   the   statement 
"Quatrain  du  Translateur." 


156  AMBROISE  PARE 

came  to  be  such.  A  counsellor  responded  to  him  that 
he  was  like  a  whetstone  which  made  the  knife  sharp 
and  ready  to  cut  not  being  able  to  do  so  itself,  and 
quoted  to  him  verses  of  Horace : 

fungebatur  vire  cotis,  acutum 
Reddere  quae  ferum  valet,  exors  ipsa  secandi. 

But  see,  mon  petit  maistre,  my  response  to  your 
calumnies,  and  pray  you,  if  you  have  the  good  grace 
to  be  willing  (for  the  public)  to  review  and  correct  your 
book  as  soon  as  you  can,  not  to  hold  young  surgeons 
in  this  error  by  the  reading  of  the  same  where  you  teach 
them  to  use  hot  irons  after  the  amputation  of  limbs  to 
staunch  the  blood,  seeing  that  there  is  another  means 
not  so  cruel  and  more  safe  and  easy.  JMoreover,  if  to- 
day after  an  assault  of  a  city  where  many  soldiers  have 
had  arms  and  legs  broken  and  carried  off  by  cannon- 
shots,  or  cutlasses,  or  other  instruments  of  war,  to 
staunch  the  flow  of  blood  if  you  should  use  hot  irons,  it 
would  be  needful  to  make  a  forge  and  much  coal  to 
heat  them ;  and  also  the  soldiers  would  have  you  in  such 
horror  for  this  cruelty,  that  they  would  kill  you  like  a 
calf,  as  was  formerly  done  to  one  of  the  chief  surgeons 
of  Rome.^®  Which  you  will  find  written  before  in 
chapter  3  of  the   "Introduction  to   Surgery."     Now 

"Pare  here  refers  to  the  story  of  Archagelus,  whom  in  the  text  of  his 
"Introduction  to  Surgery,"  he  calls  Arcabuto,  who  was  held  in  such  horror 
for  the  cruelty  of  his  operations  by  the  people  of  Rome,  that  they  dragged 
him  from  his  house  and  stoned  him  to  death  on  the  Field  of  Mars. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


157 


for  fear  lest  the  sectators  of  your  writing  should  fall 
into  such  inconvenience,  I  pray  them  to  follow  the 
aforesaid  method,  which  I  have  showed  to  be  true  and 
certain,  and  approved  by  authority,  reason,  and  expe- 
rience. 


Cavalryman  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
(Lacroix.) 


The  Journey  to  Turin  in  1536^^ 

OREOVER,    I    will    here    show    to    my 

readers    the    towns    and    places    where    I 

have   been    enabled   to    learn    the    art    of 

surgery,    always    the    better    to    instruct 

the  young  surgeon. 

And  first  in  the  year  1536  the  great  King  Fran9ois 
sent  a  great  army  to  Turin  to  recover  the  cities  and 
castles  which  had  been  taken  by  the  Marquis  de 
Guast,^^  lieutenant-general  of  the  emperor. 

^The  campaign  in  which  Pare  made  his  debut  as  an  army  surgeon  was 
in  1537,  not  in  1536  as  Pare  dates  it  in  the  text.  The  peace  of  Cambrai 
had  been  made  between  Francois  I  and  the  Emperor  Charles  V  in  1529. 
During  the  intervening  years  Francois  had  been  constantly  making  prep- 
arations to  strengthen  himself  for  another  struggle  with  his  redoubtable 
adversary.  He  had  made  a  treaty  with  Henry  VHI  of  England  and  in  1534 
had  shocked  all  Catholic  Europe  by  entering  into  an  alliance  with  the 
Sultan  of  Turkey.  He  had  also  betrothed  his  son,  afterwards  Henri  II, 
to  Catherine  de  Medici,  niece  of  Pope  Clement  VII,  in  order  to  secure  the 
friendship  of  Italy.  In  1535,  Charles  V  sent  a  strong  force  to  attack  the 
Turks  whose  piratical  fleets  preyed  on  the  commerce  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean. This  expedition  captured  Tunis  and  set  free  thousands  of  Chris- 
tians held  in  slaverj'  by  the  Turks.  In  1536  a  secret  agent  of  Francois 
I  at  the  court  of  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  was  put  to  death  by  the  Duke 
at  the  instigation  of  the  Emperor.  This  served  as  a  pretext  to  Francois 
for  the  invasion  of  Italy.  Montaigne  in  chapter  ix  of  book  i  of  his 
"Essays"  tells  how  he  confounded  the  ambassador  sent  by  Sforza  to  ex- 
plain his  servant's  death.  While  Francois  advanced  itito  Italy  the  Em- 
peror sent  his  army  into  Provence.  The  French  instead  of  resisting, 
devastated  the  country;  lack  of  food  and  forage  caused  the  failure  of  his 
expedition.  In  1537  the  French  again  advanced  into  Italy  and  it 
was  at  the  Pass  of  Suze  near  Mont  Cenis  that  Pare  saw  his  first  fight. 
The  Dauphin,  subsequently  Henri  II,  accompanied  the  expedition.  The 
Imperial  troops  occupied  the  Pass  in  great  strength  but  the  French 
surprised  them  by  climbing  above  their  position  on  some  apparently  in- 
accessible heights  and  won   a  great   victory. 

^Marquis   du   Guast,  or  del   Guasto,  a  very   able   general,  nephew   of 
the  famous  general  Pescara. 

158 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  159 

Where  Monsieur  the  Constable,^^  then  grand  mas- 
ter, was  heutenant-general  of  the  army,  and  Monsieur 
de  Monte jan^^  was  colonel  general  of  the  infantry,  to 
whom  I  was  then  surgeon.  A  great  part  of  the  army 
having  arrived  at  the  Pass  of  Suze,  we  found  the  enemy 
holding  the  passage  and  having  made  certain  forts  and 
trenches  insomuch  that  to  make  them  dislodge  and  quit 
the  place,  it  was  necessary  to  fight,  where  there  were 
many  killed  and  wounded,  as  many  on  one  side  as  the 
other,  but  the  enemy  were  constrained  to  retire  and  i^J enemy 
gain  the  castle,  which  was  taken  in  part  by  Captain 
Le  Rat,  who  climbed  with  many  soldiers  from  his  com- 
pany on  a  little  hill,  from  whence  they  fired  directly 

'^Anne  de  Montmorenci  (1492-1567),  one  of  the  great  figures  of  French 
history.  He  was  an  uncle  of  Admiral  Coligny.  In  1541  the  hatred  of 
the  Duchesse  d'Etampes,  mistress  of  Fran9ois  I,  succeeded  in  getting  him 
into  disgrace  and  he  was  dismissed  from  the  court.  Henri  II  restored  him 
to  favor.  Brantome's  "Vies  des  Dames  lUustres"  gives  another  version  of 
his  disgrace.  He  says  that  the  Constable  once  told  Francois  I  that  if  he 
wished  to  exterminate  the  heretics  in  his  kingdom  he  should  commence 
at  the  court  and  with  his  nearest  relatives,  naming  his  sister.  Marguerite 
of  Navarre,  as  one  of  the  chief  heretics.  This  was  a  dangerous  step  on 
the  part  of  Montmorenci  because  Francois  dearly  loved  his  sister.  The 
latter  naturally  vowed  to  be  revenged  on  the  Constable  and  was  very 
influential  in  bringing  about  his  fall.  The  day  that  her  daughter,  a  mere 
child,  was  married  to  the  Due  de  Cleves,  when  the  time  came  to  go  into 
the  church  the  child  could  not  walk  because  of  the  weight  of  her  robe 
of  gold  and  silver  and  jewels.  Francois  I  ordered  the  Constable  to  pick 
her  up  and  carry  her  in,  which  astonished  the  court  and  infuriated  the 
Constable.  Marguerite  said,  "See  the  man  who  wished  to  ruin  me  with 
my  brother  now  serving  to  carry  my  daughter  to  church."  The  Constable 
in  a  fury  said,  "My  favor  is  ended  and  I  bid  it  adieu."  He  left  the  court 
that  night.     He  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  St.  Denis. 

^Rene  de  Montejan,  a  gallant  soldier  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  at 
BrigonoUes  in  the  preceding  year.  He  was  appointed  Governor  of  Pied- 
mont in  1537,  and  made  a  marshal  of  France  in  1538.  He  married 
Philippe  de  Montespedon.  She  subsequently  married  Charles  de  Bourbon, 
Prince  de  La  Roche-sur-Yon.  She  was  godmother  at  the  baptism  of 
Pare's  son,  Ambroise,  on  May  30,  1576,  a  little  touch  showing  how  Fare's 
early  attachments  continued  throughout  his  long  life. 


i6o  AMBROISE  PARE 

on  the  enemy.  He  received  a  shot  from  an  arquebus 
in  the  ankle  of  his  right  foot,  wherewith  he  suddenly 
fell  to  the  ground  and  then  said,  "Now  the  Rat  is 
Jf  taken."    I  dressed  him,  and  God  healed  him.^* 

We  thronged  into  the  city  and  passed  over  the  dead 
bodies  and  some  that  were  not  yet  dead,  hearing  them 
cry  under  the  feet  of  our  horses,  which  made  a  great 
pity  in  my  heart,  and  truly  I  repented  that  I  had  gone 
forth  from  Paris  to  see  so  pitiful  a  spectacle.  Being 
in  the  city,  I  entered  a  stable  thinking  to  lodge  my 
horse  and  that  of  my  man,  where  I  found  four  dead 
soldiers  and  three  who  were  propped  against  the  wall, 
their  faces  wholly  disfigured,  and  they  neither  saw, 
nor  heard,  nor  spake,  and  their  clothes  yet  flaming  from 
the  gunpowder  which  had  burnt  them.  Beholding  them 
with  pity  there  came  an  old  soldier  who  asked  me  if 
there  was  any  means  of  curing  them.  I  told  him  no. 
At  once  he  approached  them  and  cut  their  throats 
gently  and  without  anger.  Seeing  this  great  cruelty, 
I  said  to  him  that  he  was  a  bad  man.  He  answered  me 
that  he  prayed  God  that  when  he  should  be  in  such  a 
case,  he  might  find  someone  who  would  do  the  same  for 
him,  to  the  end  that  he  might  not  languish  miserably. 

And  to  return  to  our  discourse,  the  enemy  was  sum- 
moned to  surrender,  which  they  did,  and  went  forth, 

»*Malgaigne  directs  attention  to  this  as  the  first  example  of  the  famous 
phrase  which  has  justly  added  such  great  honor  to  the  modesty  of  Pard. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  161 

their  lives  only  saved,  and  a  white  staff  in  their  hands, 
but  the  greater  part  went  to  gain  the  Chateau  de 
Villaine,  where  there  were  about  two  hundred  Span- 
iards. Monsieur  le  Connestable  would  not  leave  them 
in  his  rear  in  order  to  render  the  road  free.  The 
Chateau  is  seated  upon  a  little  mountain,  which  gave 
great  assurance  to  those  within  that  we  could  not  place 
the  artillery  so  as  to  bear  upon  them.  They  were  sum- 
moned to  surrender  themselves,  or  they  should  be  cut  in 
pieces,  which  they  flatly  refused,  making  answer  that 
they  were  as  good  and  faithful  servants  of  the  Emperor, 

Brave 

as  Monsieur  le  Connestable  could  be  of  the  King  his  response 

master.     Their  answer  heard,  we  mounted  two  great  ^^  soldiers 

cannon  by  night  with  ropes  drawn  with  the  strength 

of  arms  by  the  Swiss  and  Lansquenets  when  as  ill-luck 

would  have  it,  the  two  cannon  being  placed,  a  gunner 

by  inadvertence,  set  fire  to  a  sack  full  of  gunpowder, 

by  which  he  was  burned  together  with  ten  or  twelve 

soldiers,  and  further  the  flame  of  the  powder  was  the 

cause  of  discovering  our  artillery,  which  caused  those 

in  the  Chateau  to  fire  all  the  night  many  arquebus 

shots  at  the  place  where  they  had  been  able  to  discover 

the  two  cannon,  which  killed  and  wounded  a  number 

of  our  men.    The  next  day,  early  in  the  morning,  we 

fired  with  the  battery,  which  in  a  few  hours  made  a 

breach ;  which  being  done,  they  demanded  a  parley,  but 

it  was  too  late  for  in  the  meantime  our  French  infantry, 


i62  AMBROISE  PARE 

seeing  them  surprised,  mounted  in  the  breach,  and  cut 
them  all  in  pieces,  except  a  very  pretty,  young  lusty 
girl  of  Piedmont,  whom  a  great  seigneur  wished  to 
have  to  keep  him  company  in  the  night  for  fear  of  the 
greedy  wolf  (loupgarou).  The  captain  and  ensign 
were  taken  alive  but  soon  after  hung  and  strangled  on 
the  battlements  of  the  gate  of  the  city,  to  the  end  that 
they  might  give  example  and  fear  to  the  imperial  sol- 

Exemplary   ^^^^^  ^^^  t^  ^^  SO  rash  and  foolish,  as  to  wish  to  hold 

punishment  g^gh  placcs  against  so  great  an  army. 

Now  all  the  said  soldiers  at  the  Chateau,  seeing  our 
men  coming  with  a  great  fury,  did  all  they  could  to 
defend  themselves,  and  killed  and  wounded  a  great 
number  of  our  soldiers  with  pikes,  arquebuses,  and 
stones,  where  the  surgeons  had  much  work  cut  out  for 
them.  Now  I  was  at  that  time  a  freshwater  soldier, 
I  had  not  yet  seen  wounds  made  by  gunshot  at  the  first 
dressing.  It  is  true  that  I  had  read  in  Jean  de  Vigo, 
first  book,  "Of  Wounds  in  General,"  chapter  eight, 

Counsel  of    that  wounds  made  by  firearms  participate  of  vene- 

de  Vigo  nosity,  because  of  the  powder,  and  for  their  cure  he  com- 
mands to  cauterize  them  with  oil  of  elder,  scalding 
hot,  in  which  should  be  mixed  a  little  theriac  and 
in  order  not  to  err  before  using  the  said  oil,  knowing 
that  such  a  thing  would  bring  great  pain  to  the  patient, 
I  wished  to  know  first,  how  the  other  surgeons  did  for 
the  first  dressing  which  was  to  apply  the  said  oil  as 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  163 

hot  as  possible,  into  the  wound  with  tents  and  setons, 

of  whom  I  took  courage  to  do  as  they  did.     At  last 

my  oil  lacked  and  I  was  constrained  to  apply  in  its  place  Experience 

a  digestive  made  of  the  yolks  of  eggs,  oil  of  roses  and  ^^„  i^^^^y 

turpentine.     That  night  I  could  not  sleep  at  my  ease, 

fearing  by  lack  of  cauterization  that  I  should  find  the 

wounded  on  whom  I  had  failed  to  put  the  said  oil  dead 

or  empoisoned,  which  made  me  rise  very  early  to  visit 

them,  where  beyond  my  hope,  I  found  those  upon  whom  jj 

I  had  put  the  digestive  medicament  feeling  little  pain,  success 

and  their  wounds  without  inflammation   or  swelling 

havingi  rested  fairly  well  throughout  the  night;  the 

others  to  whom  I  had  apphed  the  said  boiling  oil,  I 

found  feverish,  with  great  pain  and  swelling  about  their 

wounds.     Then  I  resolved  with  myself  never  more  to 

bum  thus  cruelly  poor  men  wounded  with  gunshot. 

Being  at  Turin,  I  found  a  surgeon  who  was  famous 
above  all  for  good  treatment  of  gunshot  wounds,  into 
whose  grace  I  found  means  to  insinuate  myself,  to  have 
the  recipe  which  he  called  his  balm,  with  which  he 

Recipe  for 

treated  gunshot  wounds,  and  he  made  me  court  him  for  an  excellent 
years  before  I  could  draw  his  recipe  from  him.     At  arquebus 
last  by  gifts  and  presents  he  gave  it  to  me,  which  was  rounds 
to  boil  in  oil  of  lilies,  little  puppies  just  born,  with  earth- 
worms prepared  with  Venetian  turpentine.     Then  I 
was  joyful  and  my  heart  made  glad,  to  have  understood 


i64  AMBROISE  PARE 

his  remedy,  which  was  like  to  that  which  I  had  obtained 
by  chance. 

See  how  I  learned  to  treat  wounds  made  by  gun- 
shot, not  from  books. 

Monsieur  le  Marechal  de  Monte j  an  remained  lieu- 
tenant-general for  the  King  in  Piedmont,  having  ten 
or  twelve  thousand  men  in  garrison  in  the  cities  and 
chateaux,  who  often  fought  among  themselves  with 
swords  and  other  weapons,  and  even  with  arquebuses; 
and  if  there  were  four  wounded,  I  had  always  three 
of  them,  and  if  it  was  a  question  of  cutting  off  an  arm 
or  a  leg,  or  to  trepan,  or  to  reduce  a  fracture  or  dislo- 
cation, I  brought  it  well  to  an  end.  The  said  Lord 
Marshal  sent  me  sometimes  this  way,  sometimes  that 
way  to  dress  the  designated  soldiers  who  were  wounded 
in  other  cities  besides  Turin,  insomuch  that  I  was  al- 
ways in  the  country,  one  way  or  the  other. 

Monsieur  le  Marechal  sent  to  Milan  to  get  a  phy- 
sician who  had  no  less  reputation  than  the  deceased 
Monsieur  le  Grand  for  success  in  practice,  to  treat  him 
for  an  hepatic  flux,  whereof  at  last  he  died.  This  phy- 
sician was  some  time  at  Turin  to  treat  him,  and  was 
often  called  to  visit  the  wounded,  where  he  always 
found  me,  and  I  would  consult  with  him  and  some  other 
surgeons,  and  when  we  had  resolved  to  do  any  serious 
work  of  surgery,  it  was  Ambroise  Pare  that  put  his 
hand  thereto,  where  I  did  it  promptly  and  dexterously, 


RcDUCTiON  OF  Shoulder  Dislocation. 
{Par4,  Edition  1585.) 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  167 

and  with  great  assurance,  insomuch  that  the  said 
physician  wondered  at  me  being  so  ready  in  the  opera- 
tions of  surgery,  seeing  my  youth.    One  day  discours-  Witness  to 

the  aexter- 

ing  with  the  said  Lord  Marechal  he  said  to  him :  ity  of  the 
"Signor,  tu  hai  un  Chirurgico  giovane  di  anni,  ma  egh  ^^ 
e  vecchio  di  sapere  e  di  esperientia;  Guardalo  bene, 
perche  egli  ti  fara  servicio  et  honore."  That  is  to  say, 
"Thou  hast  a  young  surgeon  in  age,  but  he  is  old  in 
knowledge  and  experience:  Guard  him  well  for  he  will 
do  thee  service  and  honor."  But  the  good  man  knew 
not  that  I  had  dwelt  three  years  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  de 
Paris  to  treat  the  sick  there. 

At  last  Monsieur  la  Marechal  died  of  his  hepatic 
flux.  Being  dead  the  King  sent  Monsieur  le  Marechal 
d'Annebaut^'^  to  be  in  his  place  who  did  me  the  honor 
to  pray  me  to  remain  with  him,  and  he  would  treat  me 
as  well  or  better  than  Monsieur  le  Marechal  de  Mon- 
te Jan.  Which  I  would  not  do  for  the  grief  that  I  had 
for  the  loss  of  my  master,  who  loved  me  infinitely,  and 
I  him  in  the  same  way;  so  I  came  back  to  Paris. 

"Claude  d'Annebaut,  Baron  de  Retz,  counsellor,  chamberlain  of  the 
King,  etc.,  had  been  a  prisoner  at  Pavia  in  1525.  He  commanded  the 
French  army  in  Piedmont  and  captured  Turin.  He  was  lieutenant-general 
in  Normandy  with  Admiral  Chabot  in  1536.  In  1538  he  was  made  a  mar- 
shal of  France.  In  1539  he  was  governor-general  of  Piedmont  and  am- 
bassador to  Venice.  He  W£is  made  admiral  of  France  in  1544,  and  died 
at  la  Fere  in  1552. 


The  Journey  to  Marolles  and  Low  Brittany,  1543 


26 


II  WENT  to  the  Camp  of  Marolles  with 
deceased  Monsieur  de  Rohan  ^^  where  I 
was  surgeon  of  his  company,  where  was 
I  the  King  in  Person.  He  was  advertised 
by  Monsieur  d'Estampes,^^  Governor  of  Brittany,  that 
the  English  had  made  sail  to  descend  on  Lower  Brit- 
tany and  prayed  him  that  he  would  be  willing  to  send 
to  his  succor  Messieurs  de  Rohan  and  de  Laval  -^  be- 
cause they  were  the  seigneurs  of  that  country,  and  by 
their  favor  those  of  that  country  would  repulse  the 
enemy  and  guard  against  their  landing.     Having  re- 

"Par^  had  returned  to  Paris  early  in  1539.  The  next  few  years,  while 
he  remained  there,  were  of  great  importance  in  his  career.  He  talked 
to  Sylvius  (Jacques  du  Bois),  the  famous  professor  in  Paris,  of  his  dis- 
covery that  by  placing  the  patient  in  the  attitude  in  which  he  was  at 
the  time  the  wound  was  received  the  course  of  the  bullet  could  be  more 
easily  gauged,  and  Sylvius  made  him  promise  to  publish  his  discovery. 
He  passed  his  examinations  and  was  admitted  to  the  Barber's  community. 
He  was  married  to  Jeanne  Mazelin  in  1541.  The  journey  to  Marolles  was 
really  made  subsequent  to  that  to  Perpignan,  which  occurred  in  1543,  but 
in  his  book,  Pard  placed  that  to  Marolles  first.  Marolles,  or  Maroilles, 
was  a  village  about  thirteen  kilometres  west  of  Avesnes. 

"Rene  de  Rohan,  known  as  Viscomte  de  Rohan,  and  by  many  other 
titles,  had  married  Isabelle  d'Albret,  daughter  of  Jean,  King  of  Navarre, 
in  1534.  He  was  killed  November  4th,  1552,  at  Saint  Nicholas  near  Nancy. 
Pare's  first  book  "La  Methode  de  traictes  les  playes  faictes  par  hacque- 
butes  et  aultres  bastons  a  feu:  et  de  celles  qui  sont  faictes  par  fleches, 
dardz,  et  faictes  par  la  pouldre  a  canon,  composee  par  Ambroise  Par6, 
maistre  Barbier  Chirugien  a  Paris"  was  dedicated  to  Monsieur  de  Rohan. 

'*Jean  de  Brosse.  He  married  Anne  de  Pisseleu,  a  mistress  of 
Francois  I. 

*Claude,  called  Guy,  sixteenth  of  the  name,  Comte  de  Laval,  son  of 
Guy  XV  and  Anne  de  Montmorenci,  married  Claude  de  Foix,  daughter  of 
Odet  de  Foix,  Seigneur  de  Lautrec  and  Charlotte  d'Albret.  He  died  in 
1547.    His  widow  married  Charles  de  Luxembourg,  Viscomte  de  Martigues. 

168 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  169 

ceived  this  advertisement  he  [the  King]  despatched  the 
said  seigneurs  to  go  in  haste  to  the  succor  of  their 
country;  and  to  each  was  given  as  much  power  as  to 
the  governor,  in  such  fashion  that  they  were  all  three 
lieutenants  of  the  King.  They  willingly  took  this 
charge  (upon  themselves)  and  set  forth  promptly  post- 
ing and  they  took  me  with  them  as  far  as  Landreneau. 
There  we  found  everyone  in  arms,  tocsin  sounding 
from  all  sides,  yea,  for  five  or  six  leagues  about  the 
harbors,  to  wit,  Brest,  Couquet,  Crozon,  le  Fou,  Doulac, 
Laudanec,  each  well  furnished  with  artillery,  as  can-  Cff^od 

.  mumtions 

non,  demi-cannon,  bastards,  musquets,  passe-volants, 
field-pieces,  culverins,  serpentines,  basilisks,  sakers,  fal- 
cons, falconneaux,  flutes,  orgues,.  arquebuses  a  croc: 
briefly  all  who  came  together  were  well-furnished  with 
all  sorts  and  fashions  of  artillery,  and  many  soldiers, 
as  well  Breton  as  French,  to  prevent  the  English  from 
making  their  descent  as  they  had  resolved  at  their  going 
forth  from  England. 

The  army  of  the  enemy  came  within  cannon-shot, 
and  when  we  saw  them  wishing  to  land,  we  saluted  them 
with  cannon-shot,  and  discovered  our  soldiers  together 
with  our  artillery.  They  fled  to  sea  again,  where  I  was 
right  joyous  to  see  their  vessels  making  sail,  which  were 
in  good  number  and  in  good  order,  and  seemed  to  be 
a  forest  marching  on  the  sea.  I  saw  also  a  thing  where- 
at I  marvelled  much,  which  was  that  the  balls  from  the 


170  AMBROISE  PARE 

great  cannon  made  great  bounds  and  grazed  upon  the 
water  as  they  do  on  the  land.  But  to  make  short,  our 
TheEnglish  English  did  us  no  hurt,  and  returned  into  England, 
safe  and  whole,  and  we  left  in  peace,  remained  in  this 
country  in  garrison,  until  we  were  well  assured  that 
their  army  was  dispersed.    In  the  meantime  our  horse- 


BOMBARDS  ON  WhEELS  AND  A  PlATFORM. 

{Lacroiic.) 

men  exercised  themselves  often  in  running  at  the  ring, 
combating  with  swords  (fencing)  in  such  sort  that 
there  was  always  someone  in  trouble,  and  I  had  always 
something  to  exercise  me.  Monsieur  d'Estampes  in 
order  to  give  pastime  and  pleasure  for  the  said 
Seigneurs  de  Rohan  and  de  Laval  and  other  gentlemen, 
made  a  great  number  of  village  girls  come  to  the  sports 
Dances  of  iq  gi^g  gongs  in  Low  Breton,  where  their  harmony  was 
like  the  croaking  of  frogs  when  they  are  in  love.  More- 
over, he  made  them  dance  the  triari  of  Brittany,  with- 
out moving  the  feet  and  hips.  He  made  them  hear  and 
see  much  (that  was)  good.  At  other  times  he  made  the 
wrestlers  come  from  the  towns  and  villages,  when  there 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


171 


would  be  a  prize,  the  play  was  not  ended  but  that  some 
had  an  arm  or  a  leg  broken,  or  the  shoulder  or  hip  dis- 
located. 

There  was  a  Httle  man  of  Low  Brittany,  square  A  little 
bodied  and  well  set,  who  held  a  long  time  the  credit  of  ^^^  ^      ^ 
the  field,  and  by  his  skill  and  strength  threw  five  or  six  nfrestler 


Arquebus  a  Rouet  and  Arquebus  a  Meche. 
(Lacroix.) 

to  the  ground.  There  came  a  great  Dativo,  master  of 
a  school,  who  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  wrestlers 
of  all  Brittany.  He  entered  into  the  lists,  having  cast 
aside  his  long  jacket,  in  hose  and  doublet,  and  being 
near  the  little  man  it  seemed  that  if  he  had  been  at- 
tached to  his  belt  he  could  not  have  hindered  him  from 
running.  Notwithstanding  when  each  of  them  took 
collar  to  collar,  they  were  a  long  time  without  doing  any- 
thing, and  we  thought  they  would  remain  equal  in 
strength  and  skill ;  but  the  little  square  man  cast  himself 
with  an  ambling  leap  under  this  great  Dativo,  and  cast 


172 


AMBROISE  PARE 


him  on  his  shoulder,  and  threw  him  on  the  ground  on 
his  back,  all  spread  like  a  frog :  and  then  everyone  com- 
menced to  laugh  at  the  strength  and  skill  of  the  little 


Bombards,  or  Mortars,  on  Movable  Carriages. 
(Lacroix.) 

square  man.  The  great  Dativo  was  furious  to  have 
been  thus  thrown  to  earth  by  such  a  small  man:  he  got 
up  in  great  anger,  and  wished  to  have  his  revenge. 
They  took  hold  again  of  their  necks,  and  were  again  a 
long  time  at  their  hold,  not  being  able  to  put  to  ground : 
at  last  the  big  man  let  himself  fall  on  the  little  one,  and 
in  falling  put  his  elbow  in  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  and 
burst  his  heart  and  killed  him  stark  dead.    And  know- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  173 

ing  he  had  given  him  his  death's  blow  he  took  up  his 

long  jacket  and  went  away  with  his  tail  between  his 

legs,  and  hid  himself.     Seeing  that  the  heart  returned  ^^  ^***^^ 

Breton 
not  to  the  little  man,  for  wine  or  vinegar  nor  any  other  killed 

thing  that  was  presented  to  him,  I  approached  him  and 

felt  his  pulse,  which  did  not  beat  at  all :  then  I  said  that 

he  was  dead.    At  which  the  Bretons  who  had  witnessed 

the  wrestling,  said  loudly  in  their  patois,   "Andraze 

meuraquet  enes  rac  un  bloa  so  abeudeux  henelep  e  barz 

an  gouremon  enel  ma  hoa  engoustun."    That  is  to  say, 

"that  is  not  in  the  sport."    And  someone  said  that  this 

great  Dativo  was  accustomed  to  do  thus,  and  it  had 

been  but  a  year  that  he  had  done  the  same  thing  in  a  ^**  ^^^y 

opened  hy 

wrestle.    I  wished  to  open  the  dead  body  to  know  what  <^  Author 
had  been  the  cause  of  this  sudden  death :  I  found  much 
blood  in  the  thorax  and  in  the  lower  part  of  the  belly. 
I  sought  to  find  out  any  opening  in  the  place  from 
whence  could  come  forth  such  a  quantity  of  blood,  that  /  would 
which  I  could  not,  for  all  the  diligence  that  I  knew  how  ^f ^^  ^ j^" 

*^  pleased  to 

to  use.    Now,  I  believe,  it  was  per  Diapedesin  or  Anas-  tee  you, 
tomosin,  that  is  to  say,  "the  opening  of  the  mouths  of  ^i/aifre^  * 
the  vessels,  or  by  their  porosities."     The   poor  little  hnow  how 
wrestler  was  buried.    I  took  leave  of  Messieurs  de  Ro- 
han, de  Laval  and  d'Estampes;  Monsieur  de  Rohan 
made  me  a  present  of  fifty  double  ducats  and  a  horse 
for  my  man,  and  Monsieur  d'Estampes  of  a  diamond 
of  the  value  of  thirty  ecus.    Thus  I  returned  to  Paris. 


opening 


The  Journey  to  Perpignan,  1643^^ 

OMETIME  after  Monsieur  de  Rohan 
took  me  posting  with  him  to  the  camp 
at  Perpignan.  Being  there  the  enemy 
made  a  sortie  and  surrounded  three 
pieces  of  our  artillery,  where  they  were  beaten  back  to 
the  gates  of  the  city.  Which  was  not  done  without 
many  being  killed  and  wounded,  among  the  others, 
Monsieur  de  Brissac,^^  who  was  then  grand  master  of 
the  artillery,  with  an  arquebus  shot  in  the  shoulder.  Re- 
turning to  his  tent,  all  the  wounded  followed  him,  hop- 
ing to  be  dressed  by  the  surgeons  who  would  dress  him. 
Being  come  to  his  tent,  and  laid  on  his  bed,  the  bullet 
was  sought  by  three  or  four  surgeons,  the  most  expert 

'"This  journey  was  made  in  1542,  one  year  before  the  date  which  Pari 
placed  at  the  head  of  his  account,  and.in  the  year  previous  to  his  sojourn 
at  MaroUes.  Perpignan  was  a  considerable  town  on  the  Gulf  of  Lyons. 
It  was  held  by  the  Spaniards.  On  this  occasion  it  was  besieged  by  the 
French  under  the  Dauphin  and  Annebaut  from  August  26  to  October 
4,  when  the  siege  had  to  be  raised  because  of  lack  of  provisions,  an  epi- 
demic of  dysentery  which  caused  many  deaths  and  an  inundation  of  the 
camp,  which  was  in  the  valley  of  the  Tet.  In  removing  their  camp,  the 
French  lost  much  baggage  and  some  of  their  men  were  drowned  in  the 
flood.  Pare  posted  to  the  Siege  from  Paris  with  Monsieur  de  Rohan,  and 
as  a  result  of  his  long  ride  on  horseback,  he  suffered  an  attack  of  haema- 
turia  when  they  reached  Lyons. 

"Charles  de  Cosse,  Comte  de  Brissac,  called  "le  beau  Brissac,"  was 
successively  named  colonel  of  the  infantr}%  grand  master  of  the  artillery, 
marshal  of  France,  and  governor  of  Picardy.  In  spite  of  his  warlike 
career,  he  died  of  gout  in  1563,  aged  57  years.  He  married  Charlotte 
d'Esquetot,  and  one  of  his  daughters  by  her  married  Charles,  Comte  de 
Mansfield. 

174 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  175 

of  the  army,  who  could  not  find  it,  but  said  it  had 
entered  into  his  body. 

In  the  end,  he  called  me  to  know  if  I  could  be  more  Address  of 
skillful  than  they,  because  he  had  known  me  in  Pied-  ^^^  Author 
mont.  I  at  once  made  him  rise  from  his  bed  that  he 
should  put  himself  in  the  same  position  that  he  was 
when  he  was  wounded,  which  he  did,  and  took  a  javelin 
in  his  hands,  just  as  when  he  had  a  pike  to  fight.  I 
placed  my  hand  about  his  wound,  and  found  the  ball 
in  the  flesh,  making  a  little  swelling  under  the  shoulder 
blade.  Having  found  it,  I  showed  them  the  place  where 
it  was  and  it  was  taken  out  by  Nicole  Lavernault,^^ 
surgeon  of  Monsieur  le  Dauphin,  who  was  lieutenant 
of  the  King  in  this  army;  nevertheless,  the  honor  re- 
mained with  me  for  having  found  it. 

I  saw  one  thing  of  great  remark,  which  was  this: 
a  soldier  in  my  presence  gave  one  of  his  companions  a 
blow  on  the  head  with  a  halberd,  penetrating  even  to 
the  left  ventricle  of  the  brain,  without  that  he  fell  to 
the  ground.  He  that  struck  him  said,  he  had  heard  that 
he  had  cheated  at  dice,  and  he  had  taken  from  him  a 
great  sum  of  money,  and  was  accustomed  to  cheat. 
They  called  me  to  dress  him,  which  I  did,  as  it  were 
finally,  knowing  that  he  would  very  soon  die.    Having 

^'Nicolas  Lavemault  was  one  of  the  surgeons  who  was  given  mourning 
for  the  funeral  of  Frangois  I.  He  was  surgeon-in-ordinary  to  Henry  II 
and  to  Francois  II  and  in  1559  became  premier  surgeon  to  Charles  IX. 
He  died  towards  the  end  of  1561  and  Par6  succeeded  him  as  premier  sur- 
geon to  the  King. 


176  AMBROISE  PARE 

dressed  him,  he  returned  all  alone  to  his  quarters,  which 
were  at  least  two  hundred  paces  distant.  I  said  to  one 
of  his  companions  that  he  should  send  for  a  priest,  to 
dispose  of  the  affairs  of  his  soul.  He  procured  him  one 
who  stayed  with  him  to  the  last  breath.  The  next 
day  the  patient  sent  for  me  by  his  wench,  habited  as  a 
boy,  to  dress  him;  which  I  would  not,  fearing  he  would 
die  in  my  hands;  and  to  be  quit  of  it,  I  told  her  the 
dressing  must  not  be  removed  until  the  third  day,  the 
rather  that  he  might  die  without  being  touched.  The 
third  day  he  came  to  find  me,  staggering  to  my  tent, 
accompanied  by  his  wench,  and  prayed  me  affection- 
ately to  dress  him,  and  showed  me  a  purse  wherein 
might  be  an  hundred  or  six-score  pieces  of  gold,  and 
(said)  he  would  content  me  to  my  desire;  notwithstand- 
ing for  all  that  I  deferred  taking  off  his  dressing,  fear- 
ing lest  he  should  die  at  the  same  instant.  Certain 
gentlemen  desired  me  to  go  to  dress  him,  which  I  did 
at  their  request;  but  in  dressing  him,  he  died  in  my 
hands,  in  a  convulsion.  Now  the  priest  stayed  with 
him  until  death,  who  seized  upon  the  purse,  for  fear 
that  another  should  take  it,  saying  that  he  would  say 
masses  for  his  poor  soul,  moreover,  he  possessed  him- 
self of  his  clothes  and  everything  else. 

I  have  recited  this  history  as  a  monstrous  thing, 
that  the  soldier,  having  received  this  great  stroke,  fell 


•  I 
mm 


'^  "u5lj? 


»  '.. 


f.iil 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  177 

not  to  the  ground,  and  that  he  kept  his  reason  until 
his  death. 

Soon  after  the  camp  was  broken  for  divers  reasons; 
one  was  that  we  were  advertised  that  four  companies 
of  Spaniards  had  entered  Perpignan:  the  other,  that 
the  plague  began  to  be  much  in  our  camp,  and  it  was 
told  us  by  the  people  of  the  country  that  shortly  there 
would  be  a  great  overflowing  of  the  sea,  which  might 
drown  us  all.  And  the  presage  which  they  had  was  a 
very  great  wind  from  the  sea,  which  rose  in  such  sort 
that  there  remained  not  one  tent  which  was  not  broken 
and  thrown  to  earth,  for  all  the  strength  and  diligence 
we  could  put  forth:  and  the  kitchens  being  all  uncov- 
ered the  wind  raised  the  dust  and  sand,  which  salted 
and  powdered  our  meat  in  such  fashion  that  we  could 
not  eat  it,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  boil  it  in  pots  and 
other  covered  vessels.  Now  we  did  not  decamp  so 
early,  but  that  there  were  many  carts  and  carters,  mules 
and  muleteers  drowned  in  the  sea  with  great  loss  of 
baggage.    The  camp  broken,  I  returned  to  Paris. 


The  Journey  to  Landrecies,  1544^* 

ING  FRANQOIS  raised  a  great  army 
to  victual  Landrecies.  On  the  other  side 
the  Emperor  had  not  less  men,  indeed 
many  more  to  wit,  eighteen  thousand 
Germans,  ten  thousand  Spaniards,  six  thousand  Wal- 
loons, ten  thousand  English,  and  thirteen  or  fourteen 
thousand  horse.  I  saw  the  two  armies  near  cne  another, 
within  cannon-shot,  and  it  was  thought  they  would  never 
part  without  giving  battle.  There  were  some  foolish 
gentlemen  who  would  approach  the  enemy's  camp. 
There  were  fired  at  them  some  shots  from  passe- 
volants.'*  Some  remained  dead  on  the  place,  others  had 
their  arms  and  legs  carried  away.  The  King  having 
accomplished  that  which  he  desired,  which  was  to  victual 
Landrecies,  retired  with  his  army  to  Guise,  which  was 
the  day  after  All  Saints,  1544,  and  from  there  I  returned 
to  Paris. 

"Landrecies  is  a  town  on  the  Sambre.  It  was  besieged  by  the  Em- 
peror's army  in  1543  and  it  was  in  October,  1543  (not  as  in  the  text  1544) 
that  the  King  made  his  expedition  to  bring  supplies  to  the  people  shut 
up  in  it. 

•*Field-guns. 


Due  DE  Guise,  FRAN901S  de  Lorraine 
{From  a  j)ortrait  in  the  Louvre  attributed  to  Franqois  Clouet.) 


The  Journey  to  Boulogne,  1545 

LITTLE  while  after  we  went  to  Bou- 
logne, where  the  English,  seeing  our 
army,  abandoned  the  forts  which  they 
held,  to  wit,  Moulambert,  le  petit  Para- 
dis,  Monplasir,  the  fort  of  Chastillon,  le  Portet,  the  fort 
of  Dardelot.  One  day,  going  through  the  camp  to  dress 
my  wounded,  the  enemy  who  were  in  the  Tour  d'Ordre, 
fired  a  piece  of  ordnance,  thinking  to  kill  two  men-at- 
arms  who  had  stopped  to  talk  together.  It  happened  that 
the  baU  passed  very  close  to  one  of  them,  which  threw 
him  to  the  ground,  and  it  was  thought  the  said  ball 
had  touched  him,  which  it  did  not  at  all,  but  only  the 
wind  of  the  said  ball,  in  the  middle  of  his  doublet, 
with  such  force,  that  all  the  exterior  part  of  his  thigh  be- 
came livid  and  black,  and  he  could  only  stand  with  great 
difficulty.  I  dressed  him,  and  made  many  scarifications 
to  let  out  the  bruised  blood,  which  the  wind  of  the  said 
bullet  had  made,  and  the  rebounds  which  it  made  on 
the  earth  killed  four  soldiers,  who  remained  stark  dead 
on  the  place. 

I  was  not  far  from  this  shot,  in  such  manner  that 
I  felt  somewhat  the  moved  air,  without  doing  me  any 
harm  except  a  fright  which  made  me  stoop  my  head 

179 


i8o 


AMBROISE  PARE 


Wound  of 
the  Due 
de  Guise 


very  low,  but  the  bullet  was  already  far  away.  The 
soldiers  mocked  me  of  having  fear  of  a  ball  which  had 
already  passed.  Mon  petit  mcdstre,  I  believe  if  you  had 
been  there,  that  I  had  not  been  afraid  all  alone,  and 
that  you  would  have  had  your  part  of  it. 

What  shall  I  say  more?  Monseigneur  le  Due  de 
Guise,  Francois  de  Lorraine^^  was  wounded  before 
Boulogne  with  a  thrust  of  a  lance  which  entering  above 
the  right  eye  declining  towards  the  nose,  passed  through 
on  the  other  side  between  the  ear  and  the  nucha  with 
so  great  violence  that  the  head  of  the  lance,  with  a 
portion  of  the  wood,  was  broken  and  remained  with- 
in [the  wound],  in  such  sort  that  it  could  not  be 
drawn  out,  but  with  great  force,  even  with  a  smith's 
pincers.  Yet,  notwithstanding  this  great  violence, 
which  was  not  without  fracture  of  bones,  nerves,  veins 


■Francois,  Due  de  Guise  and  Prince  de  Joinville,  was  head  of  the 
Guise  family  and  their  great  party  of  adherents,  whose  power  was  ahnost 
as  great  as  that  of  the  royal  family  in  France.  His  sister,  Marie  de 
Lorraine,  who  was  the  mother  of  the  unfortunate  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
married  James  V  of  Scotland.  He  was  the  father  of  Henri,  Due 
de  Guise,  and  of  the  Cardinal  de  Guise  who  were  murdered  at  Blois  by 
Henri  III  on  December  23,  1588.  The  Duke  was  born  in  1519,  and  was 
murdered  by  Jean  de  Poltrot,  Sieur  de  Mere,  February  18,  1563.  He  was 
generally  known  as  "le  Balafre"  in  consequence  of  the  scar  left  by  this 
terrible  wound  which  he  received  at  Boulogne.  Malgaigne  points  out  that 
in  this  accoxmt  of  the  treatment  of  the  Duke,  as  in  the  first  account  which 
he  published  in  1552,  and  in  the  intervening  accounts  in  the  several  edi- 
tions of  his  work.  Pare  never  stated  that  he  was  the  surgeon  who  ex- 
tracted the  lance.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  tradition  that  Pare  was  the 
surgeon,  but  the  first  definite  statement  to  that  eflfect  which  Malgaigne 
was  able  to  find  is  contained  in  an  anonymous  life  of  Admiral  Coligny, 
published  in  1686,  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  event.  It  is  cer- 
tainly curious  that  Par^  should  not  have  desired  to  attach  his  name  to 
SO  notable  a  cure  if  he  had  anything  to  do  with  it. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


181 


and  arteries,  and  other  parts  torn  and  broken,  the  said 
seigneur  by  the  grace  of  God,  was  healed.  The  said 
seigneur  went  always  to  fight  with  his  face  uncovered; 
that  is  why  the  lance  passed  out  on  the  other  side. 


Removal  of  Lance  and  Arrow  Heads. 
(Pare,  Edition  1585.) 


The  Journey  to  Germany,  1552 


36 


WENT  on  the  expedition  to  Germany 
in  the  year  1552,  with  Monsieur  de 
Rohan,  captain  of  fifty  men-at-arms, 
where  I  was  surgeon  of  his  company, 
as  I  have  said  before.  In  this  expedition.  Mon- 
sieur le  Connestable  ^''^  was  general  of  the  army; 
Monsieur  de  Chastillon,^^  since  the  admiral,  was  chief 
and  colonel  of  the  infantry,  having  four  regiments 
of  lansquenets  under  the  conduct  of  Captains  Recrod 
and  Ringrave,  having  each  two  regiments,  each  regi- 
ment being  of  ten  ensigns  and  each  ensign  of  five  hun- 

*°For  some  years  after  the  death  of  Francois  I,  in  1547,  France  was  at 
peace  with  the  Emperor,  but  Charles  V  in  his  overgrown  power  was  a 
constant  menace  to  France.  In  1551,  trouble  began.  Early  in  1553,  the 
King  of  France,  Henri  II,  assembled  an  army  at  Chalons,  war  having 
been  declared,  and  started  on  an  expedition  in  the  course  of  which 
he  secured  possession  of  Toul,  Metz,  and  Verdun,  thus  securing  Alsace 
and  Lorraine.  He  captured  Danvilliers,  and  threw  a  large  army  into 
Metz  under  the  conunand  of  Francois,  Due  de  Guise  (le  Balafre)  to  de- 
fend it  against  the  army  of  the  Emperor,  which  under  the  famous  general 
Alva  was  advancing  to  besiege  it.  The  siege  of  Metz  began  on  October 
19,  and  was  ended  a  few  days  before  Christmas,  its  failure  being  due 
as  much  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  and  disease  among  the  Em- 
peror's soldiers,  as  to  the  valor  of  the  defenders.  Pare,  as  his  narrative 
shows,  took  an  active  part  in  many  of  the  events  of  the  campaign. 
"Anne  de  Montmorenci. 

^'Gaspard  de  Coligny,  one  of  the  greatest  of  Frenchmen,  chief  of  the 
Huguenot  party,  was  born  in  1517.  On  August  22,  1572,  two  days  before 
the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  he  was  shot  in  the  hand,  as  he  was 
leaving  the  Louvre,  by  a  man  named  Maurevel,  an  adherent  of  the  Guises. 
Pare  dressed  his  wound,  and  amputated  the  index  finger  of  his  right 
hand.  During  the  massacre,  two  days  later,  Coligny  was  one  of  the  first 
victims,  being  assassinated  in  I'Hotel  Ponthieu,  with  some  of  his  friends 
who  had  gathered  there  with  him.  His  mother  Louise  de  Montmorenci, 
to  whom  he  owed  his  education  as  a  Protestant,  was  a  sister  of  the  Con- 
stable, Anne  de  Montmorency. 

182 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  183 

dred  men.  And  besides  these  there  was  Captain 
Chartel,  who  conducted  the  troops  that  the  Protestant 
princes  had  sent  to  the  King.  This  infantry  was  very 
fine,  accompanied  by  fifteen  hundred  men-at-arms, 
each  with  a  following  of  two  archers,  which  would  make 
four  thousand  five  hundred  horse,  and  further  two  thou- 
sand light  horse,  and  as  many  arquebusiers  on  horse- 
back, of  whom  Monsieur  d'Aumalle^^  was  general,  be- 
sides a  great  number  of  the  nobility  who  came  for  their 
pleasure.  Moreover,  the  King  was  accompanied  with 
two  hundred  gentlemen  of  his  household,  some  com- 
manded by  the  Sieur  de  Boisy,  the  others  by  Sieur  de 
Ganappe  and  likewise  by  many  princes.  In  his  suite 
he  had  yet  to  serve  as  his  escort  the  French,  the  Scotch, 
and  the  Swiss  guards,  amounting  to  six  hundred  sol- 
diers ;  and  the  companies  of  Monsieur  le  Dauphin,  Mes- 
sieurs de  Guise,  d'Aumalle,  and  of  Marechal  Saint 
Andre,*^  which  mounted  to  four  hundred  lances;  which 
was  a  marvellous  thing  to  see,  such  a  fair  company;  and 
with  this  equipage,  the  King  entered  into  Toul  and 
Metz.  I  must  not  omit  to  say,  that  it  was  ordered  that 
the  companies  of  Messieurs  de  Rohan,  le  Comte  de 
Sancerre  and  de  Jarnac  which  were  each  of  fifty  men- 
at-arms,  marched  on  the  wings  of  the  camp,  and  God 

"Monsieur  le  Due  d'Aumalle  was  younger  brother  of  Frangois,  Due  de 
Guise. 

♦"Jacques  d'Albon  was  made  Marshal  of  Franee  in  1547.  He  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Dreux  in  1562. 


i84  AMBROISE  PARE 

knows  we  had  scarcity  of  victuals,  and  I  protest  to  God 
that  three  divers  times  I  thought  to  die  of  hunger,  and 
it  was  not  for  lack  of  money,  for  I  had  enough  of  it,  but 
we  could  not  get  victuals  by  force,  by  reason  that  the 
peasants  withdrew  them  into  the  towns  and  castles.  One 
of  the  servants  of  the  captain-ensign  of  the  company  of 
Monsieur  de  Rohan,  went  with  others  to  enter  into  a 
church  whither  the  peasants  had  retired,  thinking  to 
find  victuals  by  love  or  force;  but  among  the  rest  this 
man  was  well  beaten,  and  came  back  with  seven  sword 
cuts  on  the  head,  the  least  penetrating  to  the  second 
table  of  the  skull;  and  he  had  four  others  on  the  arms, 
and  one  on  the  right  shoulder,  which  cut  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  omoplate  or  shoulder  blade.  He  was  brought 
back  to  his  master's  lodging,  who  seeing  him  so  wounded, 
and  that  they  were  to  depart  thence  the  next  morning 
at  daybreak,  and  not  thinking  that  he  could  ever  be 
cured,  made  dig  a  grave,  and  would  have  cast  him  there- 

Charity  of   jj^   saving:  that  otherwise  the  peasants  would  massacre 
the  Author        »       ^      t>  ^ 

and  kill  him.    Moved  by  pity  I  said  to  him  that  he  could 

yet  recover  if  he  were  well  dressed.    Divers  gentlemen 

of  the  company  begged  his  master  to  let  him  be  brought 

along  with  the  baggage,  since  I  had  the  will  to  dress 

him,  which  he  granted,  and  after  I  had  had  him  clothed, 

he  was  put  in  a  cart  on  a  bed  well  covered  and  well  ac- 

conmiodated,  which  was  drawn  by  a  horse.    I  did  him 

the  office  of  physician,  apothecary,  surgeon,  and  cook. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


185 


I  dressed  him  to  the  end  of  his  cure  and  God  healed 
him;  insomuch  that  all  those  of  the  three  companies 
wondered  at  this  cure.  The  men-at-arms  of  the  com- 
pany of  Monsieur  de  Rohan,  the  first  muster  that  was 
made,  gave  me  each  an  ecu,  and  the  archers  a  half  an  ecu. 


Different  Kinds  of  Arrow  Heads. 
(Pare,  Edition  1585.) 


o 


The  Journey  to  Danmlliers,  1552 

N  his  return  from  the  camp  in  Ger- 
many, King  Henri  besieged  Danvilliers, 
and  those  within  would  not  render  them- 
selves.   They  were  well  beaten.    Our  pow- 


der failed  us,  meanwhile,  they  shot  continually  at 
our  people.  There  was  a  shot  from  a  culverin  which 
passed  through  the  tent  of  Monsieur  de  Rohan,  and  hit 
a  gentleman's  leg  who  was  of  his  suite,  which  I  had  to 
finish  cutting  off,  which  I  did  without  applying  the  hot 
irons.  The  King  sent  for  powder  to  Sedan.  Being 
arrived,  we  began  a  greater  battery  than  before,  in  such 
sort  that  they  made  a  breach.  Monsieur  de  Guise  and 
the  Constable  being  in  the  chamber  of  the  King,  told 
him,  and  they  concluded  that  the  next  day  they  would 
give  the  assault,  and  were  assured  they  would  enter 
within,  and  it  was  necessary  to  keep  this  secret,  for 
fear  the  enemy  should  be  advertised  of  it,  and  each  of 
these  promised  not  to  speak  of  it  to  anyone.  Now  there 
was  a  groom  of  the  King's  chamber,  who  being  laid 
under  his  camp-bed  to  sleep,  heard  that  they  had  re- 
solved to  give  the  assault  the  next  day.  He  presently 
revealed  it  to  a  certain  captain,  and  told  him  that  for 
certain  they  would  give  the  assault  the  next  day,  and  he 
had  heard  it  from  the  King  and  prayed  the  said  captain 

186 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  187 

to  talk  of  it  to  no  one,  which  he  promised ;  but  his  prom- 
ise did  not  hold,  so  at  the  same  instant  he  went  and  told 
it  to  a  captain,  and  this  captain  to  a  captain,  and  the 
captains  to  some  of  their  soldiers,  saying  always,  say 
not  a  word  of  it,  and  it  was  so  well  hid  that  the  next 
morning  very  early  there  was  seen  the  greater  part  of 
the  soldiers  with  their  bucklers  and  their  hose  cut  loose 
at  the  knees  for  the  better  mounting  of  the  breach. 
The  King  was  advertised  of  this  rumor  which  ran 
through  the  camp,  that  they  should  give  the  assault, 
whereof  he  was  much  astonished,  seeing  that  there  were 
but  three  in  this  advice,  who  had  promised  one  another 
to  talk  of  it  to  no  one.  The  King  sent  to  seek  Monsieur 
de  Guise  to  know  if  he  had  not  talked  of  this  assault; 
he  swore  and  affirmed  to  him  that  he  had  declared  it  to 
no  man,  and  Monsieur  le  Connestable  said  as  much,  who 
said  to  the  King  it  must  be  known  expressly  who  had 
declared  this  secret  counsel,  seeing  they  were  but  three. 
Inquisition  was  made  from  captain  to  captain.  In  the 
end  they  found  the  truth  for  one  said,  "It  was  such  an 
one  told  me."  Another  said  as  much,  till  at  last  they 
came  to  the  first,  who  declared  he  had  learned  it  from 
a  groom  of  the  King's  chamber,  named  Guyard,  native 
of  Blois,  son  of  a  barber  of  the  late  King  Francis. 
The  King  sent  for  him  into  his  tent,  in  the  presence  of 
Monsieur  de  Guise  and  Monsieur  le  Connestable,  to 
understand  from  whence  he  had  it,  and  who  had  told 


i88  AMBROISE  PARE 

him  the  assault  was  to  be  made.  The  King  told  him 
that  if  he  did  not  tell  the  truth,  he  would  have  him 
hanged.  Then  he  declared  he  laid  down  under  his  bed 
thinking  to  sleep,  and  having  heard  it,  he  told  it  to  a 
What  tt  IS    (,a^p|-ajjj  ^jjQ  ^as  one  of  his  friends,  to  the  end  that  he 

to   reveal  ^ 

the  secrets  might  prepare  himself  with  his  soldiers  to  go  the  first  to 

rtnc       ^j^^  assault.     Then  the  King  knew  the  truth,  and  told 

him  that  he  should  never  serve  him  again,  and  that  he 

deserved  to  be  hanged,  and  that  he  should  never  come 

again  to  the  Court. 

My  groom  of  the  chamber  went  away  with  this 
nightcap  (bonnet  de  nuit)  and  couched  with  a  surgeon- 
in-ordinary  of  the  King,  named  Master  Louis  of  Saint 
Andre.  That  night  he  gave  himself  six  stabs  with  a 
knife,  and  cut  his  throat,  without  that  the  said  surgeon 
perceived  it  until  the  morning,  when  he  found  his  bed 
all  bloody  and  the  dead  body  by  him.  He  was  very 
much  astonished  to  see  this  spectacle  on  his  awakening, 
and  was  afraid  that  they  would  say  that  he  was  the 
cause  of  this  murder,  but  he  was  soon  discharged,  know- 
ing the  cause,  which  was  despair  at  having  lost  the  good 
friendship  which  the  King  bore  to  him.  The  said  Guy- 
ard  was  buried. 

And  those  of  Danvilliers,  when  they  saw  the  breach 
sufficient  for  us  to  enter,  and  the  soldiers  prepared  for 
the  assault,  rendered  themselves  at  the  discretion  of  the 
King.    The  chiefs  were  kept  prisoners,  and  the  soldiers 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


189 


sent  away  without  their  arms.  The  camp  broken,  I 
returned  to  Paris,  with  my  gentleman  whose  leg  I  had 
cut  off;  I  dressed  him  and  God  cured  him.  I  sent  him 
to  his  house,  merry,  with  a  wooden  leg,  and  he  was  con- 
tent saying  that  he  had  got  off  cheap,  not  to  have  been 
miserably  burned  to  stop  the  blood,  as  you  write  in 
your  book,  mon  petit  maistre. 


k»i  mi nimmmmmmiMmiii  »mi(i| 

Different  Sorts  of  Cauteries. 
{Par 4,  Edition  1585.) 


The  Journey  to  Chateau  le  Comte,  1552 


s 


OMETIME  after  King  Henri  raised  an 

army  of  thirty  thousand  men,  to  go  and 

lay  waste  the  country  about  Hesdin.    The 

King  of  Navarre  ^^  was  chief  of  the  army, 

and  lieutenant  of  the  King.     Being  at  Saint  Denis 

The  King     de   France,   waiting  while   the   companies   passed,   he 

of  Navarre    ^^^^  £^j,  ^^^  ^^  Paris  to  comc  spcak  with  him.     Being 

prays  the  _ 

Author  to  there,  he  prayed  me  (his  request  was  to  me  a  command) , 
im  ^j^^^  J  ^Q^j^j  follow  him  on  this  expedition ;  and  wishing 
to  make  my  excuses,  saying  that  my  wife  was  sick  in 
bed,  he  answered  that  there  were  physicians  in  Paris 
to  treat  her,  and  that  he  as  well  had  left  his  own,  who 
was  of  as  good  a  house  as  mine,  promising  that  he  would 
use  me  well,  and  forthwith  commanded  that  I  should 
be  lodged  as  one  of  his  train.  Seeing  this  great  desire 
which  he  had  to  take  me  with  him,  I  durst  not  refuse 
him. 

I  went  to  find  him  at  Chateau  le  Comte,  within 
three  or  four  leagues  of  Hesdin,  where  there  were  Impe- 
rial soldiers  in  garrison,  with  a  number  of  peasants 

"Antoine  de  Bourbon,  Due  de  Vendome,  who  in  1548  became  King  of 
Navarre,  by  his  marriage  with  Jeanne  d'Albret,  Queen  of  Navarre.  He  was 
the  father  of  Henri  IV.  Pare  attended  him  on  his  deathbed  at  the  siege 
of  Rouen  in  1562.  Jeanne  was  married  at  the  age  of  twelve  to  Guillaume 
de  la  Marck,  due  de  Cleves,  but  after  the  latter's  surrender  to  Charles 
V  in  1543  the  marriage  was  annulled. 

190 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  191 

from  the  surrounding  country.    He  summoned  them  to 
render  themselves.    They  answered  that  he  should  never   ^  ,„ 

A  History 

have  them  save  in  pieces,  and  let  them  do  their  worst,  of  desper- 
and  they  would  do  their  best  to  defend  themselves.  "'^^  ^^^ 
They  trusted  in  their  fosses  which  were  full  of  water, 
but  in  two  hours,  with  a  great  number  of  fascines  and 
some  casks  we  made  a  way  for  the  footmen  to  pass, 
when  they  had  to  go  to  the  assault,  and  they  were  at- 
tacked with  five  cannon,  and  a  breach  was  made  large 
enough  to  enter  in,  where  those  within  received  the 
assault  very  vahantly,  and  not  without  killing  and 
wounding  a  great  number  of  our  men  with  arquebuses, 
pikes,  and  stones.  In  the  end  when  they  saw  themselves 
forced,  they  set  fire  to  their  powder  and  munitions, 
which  was  the  cause  of  burning  many  of  our  men,  and 
of  them  likewise,  and  they  were  nearly  all  put  to  the 
sword.  Notwithstanding,  some  of  our  soldiers  had  taken 
twenty  or  thirty  hoping  to  have  ransom  for  them.  This 
was  known,  and  it  was  ordered  by  the  council,  that  it 
should  be  proclaimed  by  trumpet  through  the  camp,  that 
all  soldiers  who  had  Spanish  prisoners  were  to  kill  them, 
on  pain  of  being  hanged  and  strangled ;  which  was  done 
in  cold  blood. 

From  there  we  went  and  burnt  many  villages  of 
which  the  barns  were  full  of  grain,  to  my  very  great 
regret.  We  went  as  far  as  Tournahan,  where  there  was 
a  very  large  tower,  where  the  enemy  retired,  but  no 


192  AMBROISE  PARE 

one  was  found  in  it:  all  was  pillaged,  and  they  blew 
up  the  tower  with  a  mine  of  gunpowder,  which  turned 
it  upside  down.  After  that  the  camp  was  broken  up 
and  I  returned  to  Paris. 

I  will  not  yet  forget  to  write,  that  the  day  after 
Taking  of  Chateau  le  Comte  was  taken.  Monsieur  de  Vendome 
Chateau  gent  a  gentleman  individually  to  the  King  to  make 
report  to  him  of  all  that  which  had  passed,  and  among 
other  things  he  told  the  King,  I  had  greatly  done  my 
duty  in  dressing  the  wounded,  and  that  I  had  shown 
him  eighteen  bullets,  which  I  had  taken  from  the  bodies 
of  the  wounded,  and  that  there  were  yet  more  that  I 
had  not  been  able  to  find  nor  take  out,  and  said  more 
good  of  me  than  there  was  by  half.  Then  the  King 
said  that  he  wished  that  I  was  in  his  service,  and  com- 
manded Monsieur  de  Goguier,  his  first  physician,  to 
write  me  that  he  would  retain  me  in  his  service  as  one 
of  his  surgeons-in-ordinary,  and  that  I  should  go  to 
meet  him  at  Rheims,  within  ten  or  twelve  days;  which 
I  did,  when  he  did  me  the  honor  to  command  me,  that 
I  should  dwell  near  him,  and  that  he  would  use  me 
well.  Then  I  thanked  him  very  humbly  for  the  honor 
it  pleased  him  to  do  me,  in  calling  me  to  this  service. 


The  Journey  to  Metz,  1552 

HE  Emperor  having  besieged  Metz  with 
more  than  six  score  thousand  men,  and 
in  the  worst  winter,  as  everyone  knows,  of 
recent  memory,  and  there  were  in  the  city 
from  five  to  six  thousand  men,  and  among  the  others 
seven  princes,  to  wit :  INIonsieur  le  Due  de  Guise,  lieuten- 
ant of  the  King,  Messieurs  d'Enghien,^-  de  Conde,^'  de  Names  of 

the  Princes 

JMontpensier,**  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon,*^  ^lonsieur  de  Ne-  -whoivereat 
mours,^®  and  many  other  gentlemen,  with  a  number  of  \fj^^^^ 

^Jean  d'Enghien,  Comte  d'Enghien,  Comte  de  Soissons,  brother  of 
Antoine  de  Bourbon,  King  of  Navarre  and  of  Louis  de  Bourbon,  Prince 
de  Conde,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Saint  Quentin,  August  10,  1557. 

^'Louis  de  Bourbon,  Prince  de  Cond6,  chief  in  rank  of  the  Huguenot 
leaders,  brother  of  the  King  of  Navarre.  Killed  at  the  battle  of  Jamac, 
1569.  He  married  Eleanor  de  Roye,  vehose  mother  was  a  half-sister  of 
Coligny. 

"Louis  de  Bourbon,  Due  du  Montpensier,  brother  of  Charles,  Prince 
de  la  Roche-sur-Yon. 

*^Charles  de  Bourbon,  Prince  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon,  second  son  of  Jean 
II  of  Bourbon  and  Isabella  de  Beauyau,  was  made  lieutenant-general  of 
the  armies  of  the  King  on  August  14,  1557,  governor  of  Dauphigne  in 
1562.  He  died  October  10,  1565.  He  married  the  widow  of  Pare's  first 
great  friend,  the  Marshal  Rene  de  Montejan,  by  whom  he  had  three 
children.     In  1564  the  King  sent  Pare  to  Biarritz  to  attend  him. 

**Jacques  de  Savoy,  Due  de  Nemours  was  the  hero  of  a  famous  scandal 
a  few  years  later.  Fran9oise  de  Rohan,  daughter  of  Rene  de  Rohan  and 
Isabelle  d'Albret,  accused  him  of  seducing  her  under  promise  of  marriage. 
He  deserted  her  and  married  Anne  d'Este,  the  widow  of  Francois  of 
Lorraine.  Mademoiselle  de  Rohan  gave  birth  to  a  son.  She  brought  suit 
against  the  Due  de  Nemours  and  Pare  was  called  as  one  of  the  witnesses. 
He  testified  that  he  had  known  her  for  ten  or  twelve  years.  One  morning 
he  was  sent  to  bleed  her  at  the  palace  of  the  Louvre  where  she  Lived;  but 
when  he  arrived  he  was  met  by  Salon,  first  physician  to  Catherine  de 
Medici,  who  forbade  him  to  bleed  her  although  he  would  give  no  reason 
for  not  allowing  him  to  do  so.  Pare  learned  later  that  it  was  because 
she  was  pregnant  by  the  Due  de  Nemours.  Mademoiselle  de  Rohan 
lost  her  suit.    So  long  as  the  Due  de  Nemours  lived  she  refused  to  marry, 

193 


194  AMBROISE  PARE 

old  captains  and  soldiers,  who  often  made  sallies  on  the 
enemy  (as  we  shall  tell  hereafter)  which  was  not  with- 
out many  slain  as  well  on  one  part  as  the  other.  Almost 
all  our  wounded  men  died,  and  it  was  thought  the  drugs 
wherewith  they  were  dressed  were  poisoned.  Where- 
fore Monsieur  de  Guise  and  Messieurs  les  Princes,  went 
so  far  as  to  demand  of  the  King  that  if  it  were  possible, 
he  would  send  me  to  them  with  drugs,  for  they  believed 
that  theirs  were  poisoned,  seeing  that  of  their  wounded 
few  escaped.  I  do  not  believe  that  there  was  any  poi- 
son: but  that  the  great  strokes  of  the  cutlasses  and 
arquebuses  and  the  extreme  cold  were  the  cause  of  it. 
The  King  wrote  to  the  Mareschal  Saint  Andre,  who 
was  his  lieutenant  at  Verdun,  that  he  should  find  means 
to  make  me  enter  Metz,  whatever  way  it  was.  JNIonsieur 
le  Mareschal  Saint  Andre  and  Monsieur  le  Mareschal 
de  Vielleville^^  found  an  ItaHan  captain  who  promised 
them  to  get  me  in  there,  which  he  did,  and  for  it  had 
fifteen  hundred  crowns.  The  King  having  heard  the 
promise  which  the  Italian  captain  had  made,  sent  for 
me  and  commanded  me  to  take  from  his  apothecary, 
Commission  named  Daigne,  so  many  and  such  drugs  as  I  should 
A  th&r  deem  necessary  for  the  besieged  wounded,  which  I  did, 
as  much  as  a  post  horse  could  carry.     The  King  gave 

considering  herself  his  legitimate  wife.     At  his  death  in  1586,  she  espoused 
Fran9ois  le  Felle,  Seigneur  de  Guebriant.     She  died  in  December,  1591. 

"Francois  de  Seipieaux,  Seigneur  de  VieTleville  et  de  Duretal,  was  made 
marshal  of  France  in  1562.     He  died  November  30,  1571. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  195 

me  charge  to  talk  to  Monsieur  de  Guise  and  to  the 
princes  and  captains  who  were  in  JNIetz. 

Being  arrived  at  Verdun  some  days  after,  Monsieur 
le  JNIareschal  de  Saint  Andre  got  horses  for  me  and  my 
man,  and  for  the  ItaHan  captain,  who  spoke  very  good 
German,  Spanish,  and  Walloon,  with  his  natural 
tongue.  When  we  were  within  eight  or  ten  leagues  of 
Metz,  we  went  only  by  night,  where,  being  near  the 
camp,  I  saw  more  than  a  league  and  a  half  of  fires 
lighted  around  the  city,  seeming  as  if  the  whole  earth 
had  been  on  fire,  and  I  was  of  advice  that  we  could 
never  pass  through  those  fires  without  being  discov- 
ered, and,  by  consequence,  hung  and  strangled,  or  cut 
in  pieces,  or  be  obliged  to  pay  a  great  ransom.  To  say 
the  truth  I  had  well  and  gladly  wished  to  be  again  in 
Paris,  for  the  great  danger  that  I  foresaw.  God  con- 
ducted our  affair  so  well  that  we  entered  into  the  city 
at  midnight,  by  means  of  a  certain  signal  which  the 
captain  had  with  another  captain  of  the  company  of 
Monsieur  de  Guise,  which  Lord  I  found  in  his  bed,  who 
received  me  with  good  grace,  being  very  glad  of  my 
coming.  I  did  my  mission  of  all  that  which  the  King 
had  commanded  me  to  say  to  him.  I  told  him  that  I 
had  a  little  letter  to  give  him,  and  that  the  next  day  I 
would  not  fail  to  deliver  it  to  him.  That  done  he  com- 
manded that  they  should  give  me  quarters,  and  that  I 
should  be  well  used,  and  told  me  I  should  not  fail  the 


196  AMBROISE  PARE 

next  day  to  be  upon  the  breach,  where  I  would  find  all 
the  princes  and  lords,  and  many  captains.  Which  I 
did,  and  they  received  me  with  great  joy,  doing  me  the 
honor  of  embracing  me,  and  saying  to  me  that  I  was 
welcome,  adding  that  they  had  no  more  fear  of  dying, 
if  it  should  happen  that  they  should  be  wounded. 

Monsieur  le  Prince  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon  was  the 
first  that  feasted  me,  and  asked  what  they  said  at  court 
of  the  city  of  Metz.  I  told  him  all  that  I  was  willing. 
Then  presently  he  prayed  me  to  go  see  one  of  his  gen- 
tlemen, named  Monsieur  de  JNIagnane,  now  chevalier  of 
the  order  of  the  king,  and  lieutenant  of  His  Majesty's 
guards,  who  had  his  leg  broken  by  a  cannon-shot.  I 
found  him  in  bed,  his  leg  bent  and  crooked,  without  any 
dressing  on  it,  because  a  gentleman  promised  to  cure 
him,  having  his  name  and  his  girdle  with  certain  words 
A  History  on  it,  and  the  poor  gentleman  wept  and  cried  of  the  pain 
which  he  felt,  sleeping  neither  day  or  night  for  four  days 
past.  Then  I  mocked  much  at  this  imposture  and  false 
promise.  Quickly  I  set  and  dressed  so  skilfully  his 
leg,  that  he  was  without  pain  and  slept  all  the  night, 
and  since,  thanks  be  to  God,  was  cured,  and  is  yet 
at  this  present  living,  serving  the  King.  The  said 
Seigneur  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon  sent  me  a  cask  of  wine 
to  my  lodging  larger  than  a  pipe  of  Anjou,  and  told  me 
when  it  was  drunk  he  would  send  me  another.  That 
was  how  he  treated  me,  making  me  all  good  cheer.  This 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  197 

done  Monsieur  de  Guise  gave  me  a  list  of  certain  Cap- 
tains and  seigneurs,  and  commanded  me  to  tell  them 
that  which  the  King  had  given  me  in  charge,  which  I 
did;  which  was  to  make  his  commendation  and  thanks 
for  the  duty  which  they  had  done  and  were  doing  in 
guarding  his  town  of  Metz,  and  that  he  would  recog- 
nize it.  I  was  more  than  eight  days  in  acquitting  my 
charge,  because  they  were  many.  First  to  all  the 
princes  and  others,  as  the  Duke  Horace,''®  the  Comte  de 
Martigues,^®  and  his  brother  Monsieur  de  Bauge,*^"  the 
Seigneurs  de  Montmorenci,  and  d'Anville,  now  Marshal 
of  France,  Monsieur  de  la  Chapelle  aux  Ursins,^^  Bon- 
nivet,  Carouge,  now  governor  of  Rouen,  the  Vidame  de 
Chartres,^^  the  Comte  de  Lude,  Monsieur  de  Biron,  now 

♦"Horace  Farnese,  Due  de  Castro,  married  Diane  d'Angouleme,  a 
natural  daughter  of  Henri  H. 

**Charles  de  Luxembourg,  Viscomte  de  Martigues,  son  of  Francois  II 
of  Luxembourg  and  Charlotte  de  Brosse.  He  was  mortally  wounded  at 
the  siege  of  Hesdin  in  1553,  and  Pare,  who  attended  him,  tells  the  story 
of  his  last  days  in  his  account  of  that  expedition,  vide  infra. 

•"Monsieur  de  Bauge  was  made  a  prisoner  at  Theroiienne  and  Pare 
teUs  more  of  him  in  his  narrative  of  the  journey  to  Hesdin. 

"Christophe  des  Ursins,  Seigneur  de  la  Chapelle-Gautier,  de  Doue  et 
d'Armenonville,  Marquis  de  Traisnel,  governor  of  Paris,  and  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  He  de  France.  He  was  the  oldest  of  six  children  of 
Fran9ois  Jouvenal  des  Ursins  and  of  Anne  I'Orfevre,  Dame  de  Armenon- 
ville.  He  married  Madeline  de  Luxembourg  in  1557.  In  1580  he  fell 
from  his  horse  and  injured  himself  most  seriously.  Pare  attended  him 
along  with  many  other  surgeons.  When  he  recovered  he  wished  to  know 
why  he  had  not  been  given  any  mummy  during  his  illness,  and  also  asked 
Pare  his  opinion  of  the  value  of  unicorn's  horn.  These  questions  induced 
Pare  to  write  his  famous  discourse  on  those  two  substances  in  which  he 
clearly  proved  their  uselessness  as  medicines.  Christophe  des  Ursins  died 
in  1588. 

"Francois  de  Vendome,  son  of  Louis  de  Vendome,  was  the  Vidame 
de  Chartres.  Diane  de  Poitiers  wished  to  marry  her  second  daughter  to 
him.  He  refused  the  match,  thereby  winning  the  favor  of  Catherine  de 
Medici,  of  whom  Diane  was  the  hated  rival.     Catherine  and  he  conspired 


198 


AMBROISE  PARE 


Wound  of 
Monsieur 
de  Pienne 


Monsieur 
de  Pienne 
trepanned 
and  cured 


marshal  of  France,  Monsieur  de  Randan,  la  Rochefou- 
cault,  Bordaille,  d'Estres,  the  younger,  Monsieur  de 
Saint  Jean  en  Dauphine,  and  many  others  who  it  would 
be  too  long  to  recite,  and  even  to  many  captains  who 
had  all  done  their  duty  well  in  defence  of  their  lives  and 
of  the  town.  Afterwards,  I  asked  Monsieur  de  Guise 
what  it  pleased  him  I  should  do  with  the  drugs  that  I 
had  brought.  He  told  me  that  I  should  part  them 
among  the  surgeons  and  apothecaries,  and  especially  to 
the  poor  wounded  soldiers  who  were  in  great  number 
at  the  Hotel  Dieu,  which  I  did  and  can  assure  you  that 
I  could  not  so  much  as  go  and  see  the  wounded,  who 
sent  for  me  to  visit  and  dress  them.  All  the  besieged 
lords  besought  me  to  care  most  solicitously  above  all  the 
rest  for  Monsieur  de  Pienne,  who  had  been  wounded 
when  on  the  breach  by  a  fragment  of  stone  shot  from  a 
cannon,  on  the  temple  with  fracture  and  depression  of 
the  bone.  They  told  me  that  suddenly  as  he  received  the 
blow,  he  fell  to  the  ground  as  dead,  and  cast  blood  out 
of  his  mouth,  nose  and  ears,  with  great  vomiting,  and 
was  fourteen  days  without  being  able  to  speak  or  rea- 
son, also  there  came  upon  him  tremors  almost  like 
spasms,  and  all  his  face  was  swollen  and  very  livid.  He 
was  trepanned  at  the  side  of  the  temporal  muscle,  on  the 
frontal  bone,  I  dressed  him,  with  other  surgeons,  and 

after  Henri's  death  against  the  Guises.  The  latter  forced  Catherine  her- 
self to  order  his  commitment  to  the  Bastille.  He  died  a  few  months  later 
on  the  very  day  of  his  release  from  prison. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  199 

God  cured  him,  and  to-day  he  is  still  living,  thank  God. 
The  Emperor  caused  battery  to  be  made  with  forty 
double  cannons,  where  the  powder  was  spared  neither 
by  day  or  night.  Presently  when  Monsieur  de  Guise 
saw  the  artillery  seated  and  pointed  to  make  a  breach, 
he  made  the  nearest  houses  to  be  pulled  down  to  make 
ramparts,  and  the  posts  and  beams  were  put  end  to  end, 
and  between  them  fascines  of  earth,  beds,  and  bundles 
of  wool,  then  they  put  again  upon  them  other  beams 
and  joists.  Now,  much  of  the  wood  of  the  houses  of  the 
suburbs,  which  had  been  thrown  to  the  ground,  (for 
fear  the  enemy  should  lodge  themselves  there  in  cover, 
and  that  they  should  not  avail  themselves  of  the  wood) 
served  very  well  to  repair  the  breach.  Everybody  was 
busy  carrying  earth  day  and  night  to  repair  the  breach. 
Messieurs  the  princes,  seigneurs,  captains,  lieutenants, 
ensigns,  were  all  carrying  the  baskets  to  give  example 
to  the  soldiers  and  citizens  to  do  the  like,  which  they  did, 
yea,  even  to  the  ladies  and  gentlewomen,  and  those  who 
had  not  baskets,  made  use  of  caldrons,  panniers,  sacks, 
sheets,  and  all  else  which  they  could  to  carry  the  earth; 
in  such  sort  that  the  enemy  had  no  sooner  beaten  down 
the  wall,  but  he  found  behind  it  a  stronger  rampart. 
The  wall  being  fallen,  our  soldiers  cried  to  those  out- 
side, "Fox,  fox,  fox"  and  they  called  a  thousand  insults 
to  one  another.  Monsieur  de  Guise  forbade  under  pain 
of  death,  that  any  man  should  talk  to  those  outside, 


The  Breach 


200  AMBROISE  PARE 

for  fear  that  there  should  be  some  traitor  who  would 
give  them  advertisement  of  that  which  was  being  done 
in  the  city.  This  prohibition  made,  they  attached  live 
cats  to  the  ends  of  their  pikes,  and  put  them  on  the 
walls,  and  cried  with  the  cats,  "Miaut,  miaut,  miaut." 
Truly  the  Imperialists  were  much  enraged,  having  been 
so  long  a  time  making  a  breach,  at  so  great  expense, 
which  was  four-score  paces  in  width,  that  fifty  men  in  a 
front  could  enter,  where  they  found  a  rampart  stronger 
than  the  wall.  They  threw  themselves  on  the  poor  cats, 
and  shot  at  them  with  arquebuses,  as  they  shoot  at  a 
popinjay.  Our  men  often  made  sorties,  by  command 
of  Monsieur  de  Guise.  The  day  before  there  was  a 
great  press  to  enroll  themselves  among  those  who  should 
go  forth,  and  principally  the  young  noblemen,  led  by 
veteran  captains,  in  so  much  that  it  was  a  great  favor 
to  permit  them  to  sally  forth  and  run  upon  the  enemy. 
And  they  would  sally  forth  always  to  the  number  of 
one  hundred  or  six  score,  well  armed  with  bucklers, 
cutlasses,  arquebuses,  and  pistols,  pikes,  partisans,  and 
halberds ;  who  went  even  to  the  trenches  to  awaken  them 
by  surprise.  Then  an  alarm  would  be  given  through  all 
their  camp  and  their  drums  would  sound,  plan,  plan,  ta 
ti  ta,  ta  ta  ti  ta,  tou  touf  touf.  Likewise  their  trum- 
pets and  clarions  roared  and  sounded,  houtte  selle, 
boute  selle,  houtte  selle,  monte  a  cheval,  monte  a  cheval, 
houte  selle,  monte  a  cheval,  a  cheval,  and  all  their  sol- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  201 

diers-  would  cry  "Arm,  arm,  arm,  to  arms,  to  arms,  to 
arms,  arm,  to  arms,  arm,  to  arms,  arm:"  as  they  cry  after 
wolves,  and  in  all  divers  languages,  according  to  their 
nations,  and  one  saw  them  going  forth  from  their  tents 
and  little  lodgings,  as  thick  as  ants  when  one  uncovers 
their  ant  hills  to  succor  their  companions,  who  had  their 
throats  cut  like  sheep.  The  cavalry,  likewise  came  from 
all  sides  at  a  great  gallop,  patati,  patata,  patati,  patata, 
pa,  ta,  ta,  patata,  pata,  ta,  and  eager  to  be  in  the  mele, 
where  the  strokes  were  falling,  to  give  and  receive  them. 
And  when  ours  saw  themselves  pressed,  they  returned 
to  the  town,  always  fighting,  and  those  who  pursued 
them  were  repulsed  by  the  artillery,  which  they  had 
charged  with  stones  and  great  pieces  of  iron,  square  and 
three-sided,  and  our  soldiers  who  were  on  the  wall,  would 
fire  a  volley,  and  rain  their  bullets  on  them  thick  as  hail, 
to  send  them  back  to  bed,  but  many  remained  on  the 
fields  of  combat,  and  our  men  also  did  not  all  return 
with  whole  skins,  and  there  remained  behind  always 
some  for  the  tax,  which  were  joyful  to  die  on  the  bed 
of  honor.  And  then  if  there  was  a  horse  wounded  he 
was  skinned  and  eaten  by  the  soldiers,  instead  of  beef 
and  bacon,  and  it  was  for  me  to  run  to  dress  our 
wounded.  Some  days  afterwards  they  made  other  sor- 
ties, which  greatly  vexed  the  enemy,  that  we  would  not 
let  them  sleep  a  little  in  surety.  Monsieur  de  Guise 
made  a  stratagem  or  ruse  of  war,  which  was  he  sent  a 


202  AMBROISE  PARE 

peasant,  who  was  none  of  the  wisest,  with  two  pairs  of 
letters  to  the  King,  to  whom  he  gave  ten  ecus  and 
promised  that  the  King  would  give  him  one  hundred, 
provided  that  he  delivered  the  letters  to  him.  In  one 
of  them  he  told  him  that  the-  enemy  made  no  sign  of 
retiring,  and  with  all  his  forces  had  made  a  great  breach, 
which  he  hoped  to  defend  even  to  the  loss  of  his  life  and 
that  of  those  who  were  within,  and  that  if  the  enemy- 
had  so  well  placed  their  artillery  in  a  certain  place  which 
he  designated,  with  great  difficulty  could  he  have  kept 
them  from  entering  in,  seeing  that  it  was  the  weakest 
place  in  all  the  city,  but  very  soon  he  hoped  to  repair  it 
in  such  sort  that  they  could  not  enter.  One  of  these 
letters  was  sewed  in  the  lining  of  his  doublet,  and  he  was 
told  that  he  should  guard  against  speaking  of  it  to  any- 
one. And  another  was  given  to  him  in  which  Monsieur 
de  Guise  told  the  King  that  he  and  all  the  besieged 
hoped  to  guard  the  town  well,  and  other  things  which  I 
leave  here  unsaid.  He  made  the  peasant  go  forth  in  the 
night,  and  he  was  taken  by  a  sentinel,  and  brought  to 
the  Duke  of  Alva,  to  learn  what  they  did  in  the  town, 
and  he  was  asked  if  he  had  letters:  He  said  "yes,"  and 
gave  them  one;  and  they  having  seen  it  asked  him  on 
oath  if  he  had  not  another,  he  said  he  had  not.  Then  he 
was  searched,  and  the  one  was  found  which  was  sewed  in 
his  doublet,  and  the  poor  messenger  was  hung  and 
strangled. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  203 

The  said  letters  were  communicated  to  the  Emperor, 
who  called  his  Council,  where  it  was  resolved,  since  they 
had  not  been  able  to  do  anji:hing  at  the  first  breach,  that 

The  letters 

quickly  the  artillerj^  should  be  brought  to  the  place  communi- 
which  they  thought  the  weakest,  where  they  made  great  ^"^^^  ^^  ''" 

JO  '  ..  o  Emperor 

efforts  to  make  another  breach,  and  sapped  and  mined  and  his 
the  wall,  and  sought  to  surprise  la  Tour  d'Enfer,  yet 
they  durst  not  come  to  the  assault. 

The  Duke  of  Alva  represented  to  the  Emperor  that 
every  day  his  soldiers  were  dying,  even  to  the  number  of 
more  than  two  hundred,  and  that  there  was  little  hope 
of  entering  the  town,  seeing  the  weather  and  the  great 
number  of  soldiers  who  were  in  it.  The  Emperor  de- 
manded what  men  they  were  who  were  dying,  and  if  Remon- 

strance  of 

they  were  gentlemen  and  men  of  mark.     He  was  an-  theDukeof 
swered  that  they  were  all  poor  soldiers.    Then  he  said  ^^''^  ^°  *^' 

•^  ^  Lmperor 

it  was  no  matter  if  they  did  die,  comparing  them  to  cat- 
erpillars, grass-hoppers,  and  cockchafers,  which  eat  the 
buds  and  other  good  things  of  the  earth,  and  that  if 
they  were  men  of  worth  they  would  not  be  in  his  camp 
for  six  livres  a  month,  and  therefore  there  was  no  harm 
if  they  died.  Moreover,  he  said  he  would  never  go  forth 
from  before  that  town,  till  he  had  taken  it  by  force  or 
by  famine,  although  he  should  lose  all  his  armj^ ;  because 
of  the  great  number  of  princes  who  were  enclosed  there, 
with  the  greatest  part  of  the  nobility  of  France,  whom  he 
hoped  would  pay  his  expenses  four  times  over,  and  he 


204  AMBROISE  PARE 

would  go  yet  once  more  to  Paris,  to  visit  the  Parisians, 
and  to  make  himself  King  of  all  the  kingdom  of  France. 
Monsieur  de  Guise,  with  the  princes,  captains,  and 
soldiers,  and  in  general  all  the  citizens  of  the  town,  hav- 
ing heard  the  intention  of  the  Emperor,  which  was  to 
exterminate  us  all,  then  it  was  not  permitted  to  the  sol- 
diers, and  citizens,  and  even  to  the  princes  and  sei- 
gneurs, to  eat  fresh  fish,  or  venizen,  likewise  no  part- 
ridges, woodcocks,  larks,  plovers,  divers  and  other  game, 
for  fear  that  they  had  acquired  some  pestilent  air,  which 
might  give  us  a  contagion.  So  they  had  to  content  them- 
selves with  the  munition  (army)  fare,  to  wit,  biscuit, 
beef,  salted  cows,  bacon,  sausage,  Mayence  hams:  like- 
wise fish,  as  molluscs,  haddock,  salmon,  shad,  tunny, 
whale,  anchovy,  sardines,  herrings,  also  peas,  beans,  rice, 
garlic,  onions,  prunes,  cheeses,  butter,  oil  and  salt ;  pep- 
per, ginger,  nutmeg,  and  other  spices,  to  put  into  our 
confections,  mostly  of  horses,  which  without  them  would 
have  had  a  very  bad  taste.  Many  citizens  having  gar- 
dens in  the  town  had  planted  them  with  great  radishes, 
turnips,  carrots,  and  leeks,  which  they  guarded  well  and 
dearly  for  the  extreme  necessity  of  hunger.  But  all 
these  supplies  were  distributed  by  weight,  measure,  and 
justice,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  persons,  because 
we  knew  not  how  long  the  siege  would  last.  But  having 
heard  from  the  mouth  of  the  Emperor  that  he  would 
never  part  from  before  Metz  until  he  had  taken  it  by 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  205 

force  or  by  famine,  then  the  victuals  were  retrenched,  in 
such  sort  that  what  had  been  distributed  for  three  sol- 
diers, was  given  to  four,  and  it  was  forbidden  to  them 
to  sell  what  remained  of  their  repast,  but  it  was  per- 
mitted to  give  it  to  the  camp  followers.  And  they  rose 
always  from  table  with  an  appetite  for  fear  they  should 
be  subject  to  take  medicine.  And  before  rendering  our- 
selves to  the  mercy  of  the  enemy,  we  had  determined 
rather  to  eat  the  asses,  mules,  and  horses,  dogs  and  cats, 
and  rats,  even  to  our  boots,  and  collars  and  other  leath- 
ers which  we  could  have  softened  and  fricasseed.  In 
general  all  the  besieged  were  determined  to  valorously 
defend  themselves  with  all  the  instruments  of  war;  to 
wit,  to  point,  and  charge  the  artillery  (at  the  point  of 
the  breach)  with  bullets,  stones,  cart-nails,  bars  and 
chains  of  iron;  also  all  sorts  and  kinds  of  artifices  of 
fire,  as  boettes,  barricades,  grenades,  pots,  lances, 
torches,  and  fusees,  circles  surrounded  by  caltrops,  burn- 
ing faggots :  boiling  water,  melted  lead,  and  quick  lime 
to  put  out  their  eyes.  Also  they  had  made  holes  through 
the  houses  from  one  side  to  the  other,  to  lodge  arque- 
busiers,  to  fight  them  on  the  flank,  and  hasten  their 
going,  or  make  them  remain  there  forever.  Likewise 
they  had  commissioned  the  women  to  pull  up  the  streets, 
and  to  throw  at  them  from  their  windows  loaves  of  St. 
Stephen  (stones),  billets,  tables,  trestles,  benches  and 
stools,  which  would  dash  out  their  brains.    Moreover, 


2o6  AMBROISE  PARE 

there  was  a  little  more  in  advance  a  great  guardhouse 
filled  with  carts  and  palisades^  casks  and  barrels,  and 
barricades  of  earth  to  serve  as  gabions,  interlaid  with 
falconnets  and  falcons,  field-pieces,  arquebuses  with  a 
rest,^^  arquebuses,  and  pistols,  and  artifices  of  fire,  which 
would  break  their  legs  and  thighs,  in  such  manner  that 
they  would  be  attacked  at  the  head,  in  the  flank,  and  in 
the  rear ;  and  had  they  forced  this  guardhouse,  were  yet 
others  at  the  crossings  of  the  streets,  at  every  hundred 
paces,  which  would  have  been  as  bad  boys  [mauvais 
gar9ons]  as  the  first,  or  worse,  and  would  have  made 
many  widows  and  orphans,  and  if  fortune  had  been  so 
much  against  us,  that  they  had  stormed  and  broken 
our  guardhouses,  there  would  yet  have  been  seven  great 
battalions  drawn  up  in  square  and  in  triangle,  to  fight 
all  together,  each  one  accompanied  by  a  prince  to  give 
them  boldness  to  fight  better  and  die  all  together,  even 
to  the  last  breath  of  their  souls.  Moreover,  they  had 
all  resolved  that  each  would  carry,  his  treasure,  rings 
and  jewels  and  his  best,  richest,  and  most  beautiful  fur- 
niture, and  bum  them  in  the  great  square,  and  put  them 
in  ashes  for  fear  the  enemy  should  prevail  and  make 
trophies  of  them.  Likewise  there  were  men  who  were 
charged  to  set  fire  to  and  burn  all  the  munitions  also 
to  break  in  the  vessels  of  wine  in  the  cellars,  others  were 

"The  arquebus  d  croc  was  one  which  had  a  crutch  on  which  it  was 
rested  when  being  fired. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  207 

to  set  fire  to  each  house  to  burn  our  enemies  and  us 
together.  The  citizens  had  accorded  all  this,  rather 
than  see  the  bloody  knife  at  their  throats,  and  their 
wives  and  daughters  ravished  and  taken  by  force  by 
the  cruel  and  inhuman  Spaniards. 

Now  we  had  certain  prisoners  that  Monsieur  de 
Guise  sent  away  on  their  parole,  who,  tacitly  we  had 
wished,  would  conceive  our  final  resolution  and  despera- 
tion, who  being  arrived  in  their  camp,  lost  no  time  in 
announcing  it,  which  was  the  cause  of  restraining  the 
great  impetuosity  and  desire  of  the  soldiers,  so  that  they 
no  more  wished  to  enter  into  the  town  to  cut  our  throats, 
and  enrich  themselves  by  our  pillage.  The  Emperor, 
having  heard  the  resolution  of  this  great  warrior  Mon- 
sieur de  Guise,  put  water  in  his  wine,  and  restrained  his  The  soldier 

great  anger,  saying  that  he  could  not  enter  the  town  °"^^  ^°^* 

to  war  for 
without  makmg  a  great  butchery  and  carnage,  and  shed-  pillage 

ding  much  blood,  both  of  the  defendants  and  of  their 

assailants,  and  they  would  be  all  dead  together,  and  in 

the  end  he  would  not  have  got  anything  but  ashes,  and 

that  afterwards  men  would  say  that  this  was  a  like 

destruction  to  that  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  made  in 

former  times  by  Titus  and  Vespasion. 

The  Emperor  thus  having  heard  our  last  resolve, 

and  seeing  how  little  he  had  advanced  by  his  battery, 

saps  and  mines,  and  the  great  plague  which  was  in  all 

his  camp,  and  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  the 


2o8  AMBROISE  PARE 

lack  of  victuals  and  money,  and  how  his  soldiers  were 
disbanding  themselves  and  going  away  in  great  troops, 
decided  at  last  to  retire,  accompanied  by  the  cavalry  of 
his  advance  guard,  with  the  greater  part  of  the  artillery 
and  the  battalia  (engines  of  war.)  The  Marquis  of 
Brandenbourg  was  the  last  who  decamped,  sustained  by 
some  bands  of  Spaniards  and  Bohemians,  and  his  com- 
panies of  Germans,  and  he  remained  there  for  a  day 
and  a  half,  to  the  great  regret  of  Monsieur  de  Guise, 
who  sent  forth  from  the  town  four  pieces  of  artillery, 
which  he  made  fire  on  him  at  random  to  hasten  his 
going;  which  he  did  soon  enough  with  all  his  troops. 
Being  a  quarter  of  a  league  from  Metz,  he  was  taken 
with  fright,  fearing  that  our  cavalry  would  fall  on  his 
rear,  which  caused  him  to  set  fire  to  his  munition  pow- 
der, and  abandon  some  pieces  of  artillery,  and  much 
baggage,  which  he  could  not  take  with  him,  because  the 
advance  guard,  the  battalia  and  the  great  cannon,  had 
broken  and  torn  up  the  roads.  Our  cavalry  wished 
with  all  their  force  to  go  forth  from  the  town  to  attack 
him  in  the  rear,  but  Monsieur  de  Guise  would  never 
permit  it,  but  on  the  contrary  said,  that  we  should 
rather  smooth  the  roads,  for  them,  and  make  bridges 
of  gold  and  silver  to  let  them  go,  like  a  good  pastor  and 
shepherd  who  did  not  wish  to  lose  a  single  one  of  his 
flock. 

That  is  how  our  dear  and  well-beloved  Imperials 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  209 

went  away  from  before  Metz,  which  was  the  day  after 
Christmas,  to  the  great  contentment  of  the  besieged, 
and  the  praise  of  the  princes  and  seigneurs,  captains, 
and  soldiers,  who  had  endured  the  travail  of  this  siege 
for  the  space  of  two  months.  Notwithstanding  they  did 
not  all  go,  there  lacked  more  than  twenty-thousand  who 
had  died,  as  well  by  artillery  and  the  sword,  as  by  the 
plague,  cold  and  hunger  ( and  from  spite  and  great  rage 
that  they  could  not  get  into  the  town  to  cut  our  throats 
and  have  the  pillage  of  it),  and  there  also  died  a  great 
number  of  their  horses,  of  which  they  had  eaten  the 
greater  part  in  place  of  beef  and  bacon.  We  went  where 
they  had  camped,  where  we  found  many  dead  bodies  not 
yet  buried,  and  the  earth  all  dug  up  as  we  see  in  the 
Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Innocents  during  some  great 
mortality.  In  their  tents,  pavilions,  and  lodgings,  they 
had  likewise  left  many  sick;  also  bullets,  arms,  carts, 
wagons,  and  other  baggage,  with  a  great  quantity  of 
munition  bread,  spoiled  and  rotted  by  the  snows  and 
rains;  yet  the  soldiers  had  it  only  by  weight  and  meas- 
ure. And  likewise  they  left  great  provision  of  wood,  the 
remains  of  houses  which  they  had  demolished  and  thrown 
down  in  the  villages  for  two  or  three  leagues  about; 
likewise  many  other  pleasure-houses  [villas]  belonging 
to  citizens,  with  gardens  and  fine  orchards,  filled  with 
divers  fruit  trees,  as  without  this  they  would  all  have 


210  AMBROISE  PARE 

been  numbed  and  dead  of  the  cold,  and  would  have  been 
compelled  to  raise  the  siege  sooner. 

The  said  Monsieur  de  Guise  caused  the  dead  to  be 
buried  and  the  sick  to  be  cared  for.  Likewise  the  enemy 
left  in  the  Abbey  of  Saint  Arnold  many  of  their 
wounded  soldiers,  whom  they  had  no  means  of  taking 
away.  Monsieur  de  Guise  sent  them  all  a  sufficiency 
of  food,  and  commanded  me  and  other  surgeons  to  go 
and  dress  and  treat  them,  which  we  did  with  a  good  will, 
and  I  believe  that  they  would  not  have  done  the  like  for 
ours,  because  the  Spaniard  is  very  cruel,  perfidious,  and 
inhuman,  and  therefore  the  enemy  of  all  nations,  which 
is  proved  by  Lopez  the  Spaniard,  and  Benzo  the  Milan- 
ese, and  others  who  have  written  the  history  of  America 
and  the  West  Indies,  who  have  had  to  confess  that 
the  cruelty,  avarice,  blasphemy,  and  wickedness  of  the 
Spaniards,  have  altogether  alienated  the  poor  Indians 
from  the  religion  that  the  said  Spaniards  are  said  to 
hold.  And  all  write  they  are  worth  less  than  the  idol- 
atrous Indians,  for  their  cruel  treatment  of  the  said 
Indians.  And  after  some  days,  we  sent  a  trumpet  to 
Thionville,  to  the  enemy,  that  they  should  send  for 
their  wounded  in  safety,  which  they  did  with  carts 
and  wagons,  but  not  enough.  Monsieur  de  Guise  gave 
them  carts  and  carters  to  help  bring  them  to  Thion- 
ville. Our  carters  having  returned,  told  us  that  the 
roads  were  all  paved  with  dead  bodies,  and  they  never 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  211 

brought  back  the  half,  because  they  died  in  the  carts, 
and  the  Spaniards  seeing  them  at  the  point  of  death, 
before  they  had  cast  forth  their  last  breath,  threw  them 
out  of  the  carts,  and  buried  them  in  the  mud  and  mire, 
saying  that  they  had  no  order  to  bring  back  the  dead. 
Moreover  our  carters  said  they  had  found  by  the  roads 
many  carts  stuck  in  the  mud,  laden  with  baggage,  which 
the  enemy  had  not  dared  to  send  for,  fearing  that  those 
in  Metz  would  run  upon  them. 

I  will  again  return  to  the  cause  of  their  mortality, 
which  was  principally  from  hunger,  plague  and  cold; 
because  the  snow  was  on  the  ground  to  the  height  of  Causes  of 

more  than  two  feet,  and  they  were  lodged  in  caves  under  ^}^  Mortal- 
ity of  the 
the  earth  covered  only  with  a  little  thatch.     Neverthe-  Imperial- 
less  each  soldier  had  his  camp-bed  and  a  coverlet  all  **  *" 
sewn  with  stars,  glittering  and  brilliant,  brighter  than 
fine  gold,  and  every  day  they  had  white  sheets,  and 
lodged  at  the  sign  of  the  Moon,  and  made  good  cheer 
when  they  had  the  wherewithal,  and  paid  their  host  so 
well  overnight,  that  in  the  morning  they  went  away 
quits,  shaking  their  ears,  and  they  needed  no  comb  to 
detach  the  down  and  the  feathers  from  their  beards  and 
hair,  and  they  found  always  a  white  tablecloth,  losing 
good  meals  for  want  of  victuals.    Also  the  greater  part 
had  neither  boots,  nor  half-boots,  slippers,  hose  nor 
shoes,  and  many  would  rather  have  none  than  have 
them,  because  they  were  always  in  the  mud  up  to  the 


212 


AMBROISE  PARE 


mid-leg,  and  because  they  went  barefoot,  we  called 
them  the  Emperor's  Apostles. 

After  the  camp  was  entirely  broken  up,  I  distrib- 
uted my  sick  in  the  hands  of  the  surgeons  in  the  town, 
to  finish  dressing  them;  then  I  took  leave  of  Monsieur 
de  Guise  and  returned  to  the  King,  who  received  me 
with  a  good  countenance,  and  asked  of  me  how  I  had 
been  able  to  enter  the  city  of  Metz.  I  told  him  en- 
tirely all  that  I  had  done.  He  gave  me  two-hundred 
ecus,  and  one  hundred  that  I  had  at  setting  out,  and 
said  he  would  never  leave  me  poor.  Then  I  thanked 
him  very  humbly  for  the  good  and  the  honor  that  he 
was  pleased  to  do  me. 


The  Tree  Which  Bears  the  Incense. 
(^Pare,  Edition  15S5.) 


The  Journey  to  Hesdin,  1553 

HE  Emperor  Charles  besieged  the  city 
of  Theroiienne,  where  Monsieur  le  Due 
de  Savoie  ^*  was  general  of  the  whole 
army.  It  was  taken  by  assault,  where 
there  were  a  great  number  of  our  men  killed  and  made 
prisoners.  The  King  wishing  to  prevent  the  enemy 
from  besieging  the  city  and  chateau  of  Hesdin,  sent 
Messieurs  the  Due  de  Bouillon,  the  Due  Horace,  the 
Marquis  de  Villars,  and  a  number  of  captains,  and 
about  eighteen  hundred  soldiers,  and  during  the  siege 
of  Theroiienne,  these  seigneurs  fortified  the  chateau  of 
Hesdin,  in  such  sort  that  it  seemed  to  be  impregnable. 
The  King  sent  me  to  these  seigneurs  to  aid  them  with 
my  art,  if  peradventure  they  should  have  need  of  it. 
Now  soon  after  the  taking  of  Theroiienne,  we  were 
besieged  with  the  army.  There  was  a  quick,  clear, 
spring  within  cannonshot,  where  there  were  about  four 
score  or  a  hundred  camp  followers  and  wenches  of  the 
enemy  who  were  about  the  spring  to  draw  water.  I  was 
on  a  rampart  watching  them  place  the  camp,  and  seeing 
this    crowd   of   idlers    about   the    fountain,    I    prayed 

"Emmanuel  Philibert,  called  "Tete  de  Fer"  (Iron  head)  was  born  in 
1528.  He  was  a  great  soldier.  In  1557,  he  commanded  the  victorious 
troops  at  the  battle  of  Saint-Quentin.  In  1559,  he  married  Marguerite  de 
France,  daughter  of  Francois  I,  and  retired  from  active  life.  He  died 
in  1580. 

213 


214  AMBROISE  PARE 

Monsieur  du  Pont,  commissary  of  artillery,  to  fire  a 
cannonshot  at  this  rabble.  He  made  me  a  flat  refusal, 
remonstrating  with  me  that  all  this  kind  of  people  were 
not  worth  the  powder  that  one  would  spend  on  them. 
Again  I  begged  him  to  point  the  cannon,  telling  him 
"The  more  dead,  the  fewer  enemies,"  which  he  did  at  my 
request,  and  by  this  shot  were  killed  fifteen  or  sixteen 
of  them,  and  many  wounded.  Our  soldiers  sallied  forth 
on  the  enemy  before  their  trenches  were  made  where 
there  would  be  many  killed  and  wounded  by  arquebus 
shots  and  by  the  sword  as  many  on  one  side  as  on  the 
other,  where  I  had  much  work  cut  out  for  me  of  such 
sort  that  I  had  no  rest  neither  day  nor  night  for  dress- 
ing the  wounded. 

And  I  would  tell  this  in  passing,  that  we  had  put 
many  of  them  in  a  great  tower,  laid  on  a  little  straw; 
and  their  pillows  were  stones,  their  coverlets  were  their 
cloaks  of  those  that  had  them.  When  the  artillery  was 
active,  as  often  as  the  cannon  fired,  the  wounded  said 
they  felt  pain  in  their  wounds,  as  if  one  had  given  them 
blows  with  a  stick,  the  one  cried  his  head,  the  other  his 
arm,  and  so  with  the  other  parts,  and  with  many  their 
wounds  bled  afresh,  even  in  greater  quantity  than  at 
the  time  they  were  first  wounded,  and  then  it  was  I  must 
run  to  staunch  them.  Mon  petit  maistre,  if  you  had 
been  there,  you  would  have  been  much  hindered  with 
your  hot  irons.  You  would  have  had  need  of  much  char- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  215 

coal  to  redden  them,  and  I  believe  they  would  have  killed 
you  like  a  calf  for  your  cruelty.  Now  by  this  devilish 
tempest  of  the  echo  of  these  cannon  engines,  and  the 
great  and  vehement  agitation  of  the  collision  of  the  air, 
resounding  in  the  wounds  of  the  injured,  many  died; 
and  others,  because  they  could  not  rest  by  reason  of  the 
clamors  and  cries  which  were  made  day  and  night,  and 
also  for  lack  of  good  food,  and  other  things  necessary 
for  the  wounded.  Now,  mon  petit  maistre,  if  you  had 
been  there  you  could  have  ordered  them  jellys,  restora- 
tives, gravies,  pressed  meat,  broth,  barley  water,  al- 
monds, blanc-mange,  prunes,  damsons,  and  other 
viands  proper  for  the  sick,  but  your  ordinance  would 
only  have  been  accomplished  on  paper,  for  in  effect  there 
was  nothing  to  have  but  the  flesh  of  old  tainted  cows 
which  were  taken  around  Hesdin  for  our  munition, 
salted  and  half-cooked,  in  such  sort  that  he  who  would 
eat  it,  must  tear  it  with  the  strength  of  his  teeth,  as  birds 
of  prey  do  their  food. 

I  would  not  forget  the  rags  with  which  they  were 
dressed,  which  were  only  rewashed  every  day  and  dried 
at  the  fire,  and  therefore  were  as  hard  as  parchment.  I 
leave  you  to  think  how  their  wounds  could  do  well. 
There  were  four  big,  fat  prostitutes  to  whom  was  given 
charge  of  the  washing  of  the  linen,  who  acquitted  them- 
selves of  it  to  the  strokes  of  a  stick,  and  likewise  they  had 
no  water  at  their  command,  and  less  soap.    That  is  how 


2i6  AMBROISE  PARE 

the  poor  sick  died  for  lack  of  food  and  other  necessary- 
things. 

One  day  our  enemies  feigned  to  give  us  a  general 
assault  to  draw  our  soldiers  on  the  breach,  to  the  end 
that  they  might  reconnoitre  our  strength.  Everybody 
ran  there.  We  had  made  great  provision  of  artifices  of 
fire  to  defend  the  breach.  A  priest  of  Monsieur  le  Due 
de  Bouillon  took  a  grenade,  thinking  to  throw  it  on  the 
enemy,  and  put  fire  to  it  sooner  than  he  should.  It  ex- 
ploded and  set  fire  to  our  artifices  which  were  in  a  house 
near  the  breach;  which  was  a  marvellous  disaster  to  us 
because  it  burned  many  poor  soldiers ;  it  even  caught  the 
house,  and  we  had  all  been  burned,  had  it  not  been  for 
succor  which  put  it  out.  There  was  only  one  well  with 
any  water  in  it  in  our  chateau,  which  was  nearly  all 
dried  up,  and  instead  of  water  they  took  beer  to  extin- 
guish it.  Thereafter,  there  was  a  great  dearth  of  water 
and  to  drink  that  which  was  left,  it  was  necessary  to 
strain  it  through  napkins. 

Now  the  enemy  seeing  the  explosion  and  the  tempest 
of  the  artifices,  which  made  a  marvellous  flame  and 
thundering,  thought  that  we  had  put  the  fire  on  purpose 
for  the  defense  of  the  breach,  to  burn  them  and  that  we 
had  many  others.  This  made  them  change  their  mind 
to  have  us  some  other  way  than  by  assault.  They  made 
mines  and  sapped  the  greater  part  of  our  walls;  so  much 
so  that  it  would  throw  down  entirely  our  chateau  upside 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  217 

down ;  and  when  the  sappers  had  finished  their  task,  and 
their  artillery  was  fired,  all  our  chateau  shook  under  us, 
as  an  earthquake,  which  amazed  us  much.  Moreover, 
they  had  directed  five  pieces  of  artillery  which  they  had 
placed  on  a  little  hill  to  play  on  our  backs,  when  we  went 
to  defend  the  breach. 

Due  Horace  had  a  cannon-shot  on  the  shoulder  j)^^ 
which  carried  away  the  arm  one  side,  the  body  to  the  Horace 
other,  without  his  being  able  to  speak  a  single  word.  His 
death  was  a  great  disaster  to  us,  because  of  the  rank 
which  he  held  in  this  place.  Likewise  Monsieur  de  Mar- 
tigues  had  a  bulletshot  which  pierced  his  lungs.  I 
dressed  him  as  I  shall  tell  hereafter.  ^^  Mar- 

Then  we  demanded  a  parley,  and  a  trumpet  was   *»^"^« 

wounded 

sent  to  the  Prince  of  Piedmont  to  know  what  terms  it 
would  please  him  to  give  us.  His  answer  was  that  all 
the  chiefs,  as  gentlemen,  captains,  lieutenants,  and  en- 
signs, should  be  held  for  ransom,  and  the  soldiers  should 
go  forth  without  their  arms,  and  that  if  they  refused 
this  fair  and  honest  offer  the  next  day  we  could  be 
assured  they  would  take  us  by  assault  or  otherwise. 

A  council  was  held  where  I  was  summoned,  as  many 
captains,  gentlemen,  and  others,  to  know  if  I  would 
sign  that  the  place  should  be  surrendered.  I  an- 
swered that  it  was  not  tenable,  and  I  would  sign  with 
my  own  blood,  for  the  little  hope  I  had  that  we  could 
resist  the  forces  of  the  enemy,  and  also  for  the  great 


2i8  AMBROISE  PARE 

longing  I  had  to  be  out  of  this  hell  and  great  torment, 
for  I  slept  neither  day  or  night  for  the  great  quantity 
of  wounded,  which  might  be  in  number  about  two  hun- 
dred. The  dead  yielded  a  great  putrefaction,  being 
heaped  up  on  one  another  like  faggots,  not  being  cov- 
ered with  earth  because  we  had  none;  and  if  I  entered 
into  a  lodging,  there  were  soldiers  awaiting  me  at  the 
door  when  I  went  forth,  for  me  to  dress  others ;  it  was 
which  should  have  me,  and  they  carried  me  like  a  holy 
body,  not  touching  foot  to  earth  in  spite  of  one  another, 
and  I  could  not  satisfy  so  great  a  number  of  wounded, 
joined  to  which  I  had  not  that  which  was  necessary  to 
treat  them.  For  it  is  not  enough  that  the  surgeon  should 
do  his  dutj'^  towards  his  patients,  but  the  patient  must 
also  do  his,  and  the  assistance  and  external  things.  See 
Hippocrates,  "The  First  Aphorism." 

Now  having  heard  the  resolution  for  the  surrender 
of  the  place,  I  knew  that  our  affair  did  not  go  well,  and 
for  fear  of  being  known  I  gave  a  velvet  coat,  a  satin 
doublet,  a  cloak  of  fine  cloth  lined  with  velvet  to  a  sol- 
dier, who  gave  me  a  sorry  doublet  all  torn  and  frayed 
with  use,  and  a  collar  of  leather  well  worn,  and  a  miser- 
able hat,  and  a  short  cloak.  I  smeared  the  neck  of  my 
shirt  with  water  with  which  I  had  mixed  a  little  soot. 
Likewise  I  rubbed  my  hose  with  a  stone  at  the  knees 
and  above  the  heels  as  if  they  had  been  worn  a  long 
time.    I  did  as  much  to  my  shoes,  in  such  sort  that  I  had 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  219 

sooner  been  taken  for  a  chininey  sweep  than  for  a  sur- 
geon to  the  King.  I  went  in  this  guise  to  Monsieur  de 
Martigues  and  I  prayed  him  that  he  would  arrange  it  so 
that  I  should  remain  with  him  to  dress  him,  which  he 
accorded  willingly,  and  had  as  much  wish  that  I  should 
remain  with  him  as  I  had  myself. 

Soon  after  the  commissioners  who  had  charge  of 
selecting  the  prisoners  entered  the  chateau,  the  seven- 
teenth day  of  July,  1553,  where  they  took  Messieurs  le 
Due  de  Bouillon,  le  Marquis  de  Villars,  de  Roye,  le 
Baron  de  Culan,  Monsieur  du  Pont,  the  conmiissary 
of  the  artillery,  and  Monsieur  de  Martigues;  and  me 
with  him  (because  of  the  prayer  which  he  made  them  to 
do  it) ;  and  all  the  gentlemen  whom  they  knew  were  able 
to  pay  any  ransom,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  soldiers 
and  chiefs  of  companies,  having  so  many  and  such  pris- 
oners as  they  wished.  Afterwards  the  Spanish  soldiers 
entered  by  the  breach  without  any  resistance,  our  men 
thinking  that  they  would  hold  their  faith  and  agree- 
ment, that  they  should  have  their  lives  saved.  They  en- 
tered in  a  great  fury  to  kill  all,  to  plunder,  and  to  sack. 
They  retained  some  men,  hoping  to  have  ransom  for 
them;  they  tied  them  by  their  genitalia  with  their  arque- 
bus cords,  which  were  thrown  over  a  pike  that  two  held 
on  their  shoulders,  then  they  would  pull  the  cord,  with 
great  violence  and  derision,  as  if  they  had  wished  to 
sound  a  chime,  telhng  them  that  they  must  put  them- 


220  AMBROISE  PARE 

selves  to  ransom,  and  to  tell  of  what  houses  (family) 
they  were,  and  if  they  saw  they  would  have  no  profit 
from  them,  they  killed  them  cruelly  in  their  hands,  or 
soon  after  their  genitalia  would  have  fallen  into  a  gan- 
grene and  total  mortification.  But  they  killed  them  all 
with  their  daggers  and  cut  their  throats.  See  then  their 
great  cruelty  and  perfidy;  let  him  trust  them  that  will. 
Now  to  return  to  my  discourse.  Being  led  from  the 
chateau  into  the  city  with  Monsieur  de  Martigues,  there 
was  a  gentleman  of  Monsieur  de  Savoi  who  asked  me  if 
the  wound  of  Monsieur  de  Martigues  could  be  cured; 
I  told  him  no,  that  it  was  incurable.  He  promptly  went 
away  to  tell  it  to  Monseigneur  le  Due  de  Savoi.  Now  I 
thought  that  he  would  send  physicians  and  surgeons 
to  visit  and  dress  Monsieur  de  Martigues.  Meanwhile  I 
discussed  with  myself  if  I  should  play  the  simpleton, 
and  not  let  myself  be  known  as  a  surgeon,  for  fear  that 
they  should  keep  me  to  dress  their  wounded,  and  that  in 
the  end  I  should  be  known  to  be  surgeon  to  the  King 
and  they  would  make  me  pay  a  large  ransom.  On  the 
other  side  I  feared  that  if  I  did  not  show  myself  to  be  a 
surgeon,  and  to  have  well  dressed  Monsieur  de  Mar- 
tigues, they  would  cut  my  throat.  Forthwith  I  resolved 
to  show  them  that  he  would  not  die  for  want  of  having 
been  well  dressed  and  succoured.  Soon  after,  behold, 
there  came  many  gentlemen,  accompanied  by  a  physi- 
cian and  a  surgeon  of  the  Emperor,  and  those  of  the 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  221 

said  Seigneur  de  Savoi,  with  six  other  surgeons  of  the 
army,  to  see  the  wound  of  the  said  Monsieur  de  Mar- 
tigues,  and  to  know  of  me  how  I  had  dressed  and  treated 
him.  The  Emperor's  physician  bade  me  declare  the 
essential  nature  of  the  wound  and  how  I  had  treated  it. 
Now  all  the  spectators  had  a  very  attentive  ear  to  know 
if  the  wound  was  mortal  or  not. 

I  commenced  to  discourse  to  them,  how  Monsieur  de 
Martigues  looking  over  the  wall,  to  reconnoitre  those 
who  were  sapping  it,  received  a  shot  from  an  arquebus 
though  the  body,  where  presently  I  was  called  to  dress 
him.  I  saw  that  he  cast  out  blood  by  his  mouth  and 
his  wound ;  moreover  he  had  great  difficulty  on  inspira- 
tion and  expiration,  and  cast  wind  by  the  said  wounds 
with  a  whistling,  insomuch  that  it  would  blow  out  a 
candle,  and  he  said  he  had  a  very  great  stabbing  pain  at 
the  entrance  of  the  bullet.  I  thought  and  believed  that 
this  could  be  some  splinters  of  bone  which  pricked  the 
lungs  when  they  made  their  systole  and  diastole.  I 
put  my  finger  within  where  I  found  the  entrance  of  the 
ball  had  broken  the  fourth  rib  in  the  middle,  and  splin- 
ters of  bone  which  the  said  ball  had  forced  in,  and  the 
going  forth  of  it  had  likewise  broken  the  fifth  rib  with 
splinters  of  bone  which  had  been  driven  from  within, 
outwards.  I  drew  out  some  but  not  all  because  they 
were  very  deep  and  adherent.  I  put  in  each  wound  a 
tent,  having  the  head  large  enough,   attached  by   a 


222  AMBROISE  PARE 

thread,  for  fear  that  by  the  inspiration  they  should  be 
drawn  into  the  cavity  of  the  thorax,  which  has  been 
known  by  experience  to  the  detriment  of  the  poor 
wounded,  because  having  fallen  within,  one  cannot  with- 
draw them,  which  is  the  reason  that  they  engender  pu- 
trefaction, as  a  thing  contrary  to  nature.  The  said 
tents  were  anointed  with  a  medicament  made  of  the 
yellow  of  eggs  and  Venice  turpentine,  with  a  little  oil  of 
roses.  My  intention  in  putting  in  the  said  tents  was  to 
arrest  the  blood  and  to  guard  against  the  exterior  air 
entering  the  chest,  which  had  been  able  to  chill  the  lungs 
and  by  consequence  the  heart.  The  said  tents  were  put 
there  also  so  that  they  would  give  issue  to  the  blood 
diffused  in  the  thorax.  I  put  on  the  wounds  a  large 
plaster  of  diachylon  ^^  in  which  I  had  mixed  oil  of  roses 
and  vinegar,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  inflammation, 
and  then  I  applied  large  compresses  soaked  in  oxy- 
crate^^  and  bandaged  him,  but  not  too  hard,  so  that  he 
could  breathe  easily.  That  done  I  drew  from  him  five 
porringers  of  blood,  from  the  basilic  vein  of  the  right 
arm,  so  as  to  make  revulsion  of  the  blood,  which  ran 
from  his  wounds  into  his  thorax,  having  first  taken  indi- 
cation from  the  wounded  parts,  and  chiefly,  his  qualities 

^'Diachylon  plaster  was  the  invention  of  Menecrates,  who  was  physi- 
cian to  the  Emperor  Tiberius.  It  was  described  by  Galen.  This  plaster 
was  a  mucilaginous  mass  made  chiefly  from  mucilaginous  seeds  and  roots, 
such  as  marshmallow  and  linseed.  The  term  was  applied  to  mucilaginous 
plasters  in  general  down  to  very  recent  times. 

■^Oxycrate  was  a  mixture  of  which  the  chief  ingredients  were  vinegar 
and  saffron. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  223 

considering  his  youth  and  his  sanguine  temperament. 
Soon  after  he  went  to  stool,  and  by  his  urine  and  stool 
evacuated  a  great  quantity  of  blood.  And  as  to  the 
pain,  which  he  said  he  felt  at  the  entrance  of  the  bullet, 
as  if  he  had  been  pricked  with  a  bodkin,  that  was  be- 
cause the  lungs,  by  their  movements,  beat  against  the 
splinters  of  the  broken  rib.  But  the  lungs  are  covered 
with  a  tunic  coming  from  the  pleural  membrane,  having 
issue  with  the  nerves  of  the  sixth  conjugation  from  the 
brain  which  was  the  cause  of  the  pain  which  he  felt. 

Likewise  he  had  great  difficulty  in  inspiring  and  ex- 
piring, which  came  from  the  blood  diffused  in  the  cavity 
of  the  thorax,  and  on  the  diaphragm,  the  chief  agent  in 
respiration,  and  from  the  laceration  of  the  muscles  which 
are  between  each  rib,  which  aid  also  in  inspiration  and 
expiration;  and  likewise  because  the  lungs  were 
wounded,  and  torn,  and  lacerated  by  the  ball,  which 
had  caused  him  to  spit  black  and  putrid  blood  in  cough- 
ing. 

Fever  seized  him  soon  after  he  was  wounded,  with 
weakness  of  the  heart.  The  said  fever  seemed  to  me  „,^y^^  ^f 
to  come  from  the  putrid  vapors  arising  from  the  blood  the  lungs 
which  was  outside  its  vessels,  which  had  flowed  and  will 
flow  more.  The  wound  of  the  lungs  has  grown  larger 
and  will  grow  larger  [yet],  because  it  is  in  perpetual 
movement  both  in  sleeping  and  waking,  and  expands 
and  compresses  itself  to  attract  the  air  to  the  heart  and 


224  AMBROISE  PARE 

throw  the  fuliginous  vapors  out.  By  the  unnatural  heat 
is  made  inflammation ;  then  the  expulsive  quality  forces 
out  by  cough  that  which  is  obnoxious  to  it.  But  the 
lungs  themselves  cannot  purge  but  by  coughing,  and  in 
coughing  the  wound  is  enlarged,  and  grows  yet  more, 
from  which  the  blood  goes  forth  in  greater  abundance, 
which  blood  is  drawn  from  the  heart  by  the  arterial 
vein,"  to  give  them  (the  lungs)  their  nourishment,  and 
to  the  heart  by  the  vena  cava.  His  food  was  barley  broth, 
prunes  with  sugar,  at  other  times  bread  soup ;  his  drink 
was  a  ptisan.  He  could  lie  only  on  his  back,  which 
showed  that  he  had  a  great  quantity  of  blood  diffused 
in  his  thorax,  which  spreading  itself  along  the  vertebrae 
did  not  compress  the  lungs  as  much  as  it  would  lying 
on  his  sides  or  seated.  What  more  shall  I  say,  but  that 
my  said  Seigneur  de  Martigues  never  had  a  single 
hour's  rest  after  he  was  wounded,  and  always  evacuated 
bloody  urine  and  stools.  These  things  considered,  Mes- 
Prognosis  sieurs,  one  can  make  no  other  prognosis,  except  that 
of  death       ^e  will  die  in  a  few  days,  to  my  great  grief. 

Having  ended  my  discourse,  I  dressed  him,  as  I  was 
accustomed.  Having  uncovered  his  wounds,  the  physi- 
cians and  surgeons,  and  other  witnesses  present,  knew 
the  truth  of  that  which  I  had  said  to  them.  The  physi- 
cians having  felt  his  pulse,  and  knowing  his  forces  were 
almost  prostrated  and  depressed  agreed  with  me  that  in 

"Pulmonary  artery. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  225 

a  few  days  he  would  die.  And  directly  they  went  to  the 
Due  de  Savoi  where  they  said  that  the  said  Monsieur 
de  Martigues  would  die  in  a  short  time.  He  answered 
them  that  possibly  if  he  had  been  well  dressed,  he  could 
have  escaped.  Then  they  all  said  with  one  voice  he  had 
been  very  well  dressed  and  cared  for  with  all  things  ap- 
pertaining to  the  curing  of  his  wounds,  and  it  could  not 
be  better,  and  that  it  was  impossible  to  cure  him,  and 
that  his  wound  was  necessarily  mortal.  Then  Monsieur 
de  Savoi  showed  himself  very  much  displeased,  and 
wept,  and  asked  them  again  if  for  certain  they  all  held 
him  for  lost;  they  answered  only  yes. 

Then  a  Spanish  impostor  presented  himself,  and 
promised  on  his  life  that  he  would  cure  him,  and  that  if 
he  failed  to  cure  him  thev  should  cut  him  in  a  hundred  p^^^^ 

•'  temerity  of 

pieces,  but  he  would  have  no  physicians,  surgeons,  nor  a  Spanish 

apothecaries  with  him;  and  at  once  Monsieur  de  Savoi    '^P  ^   ^ 

said  to  the  physicians  and  surgeons  that  they  should  go 

no  more  to  see  Monsieur  de  Martigues.    Also  he  sent  a 

gentleman  to  me  bidding  me  on  pain  of  my  life  not  to 

touch  Monsieur  de  Martigues.    Which  I  promised  not 

to  do  of  which  I  was  very  fflad  seeing  that  he  would  not  ^    , ., , 

^  ^  ^^  .     .  Prohibition 

die  in  my  hands.    And  he  conmianded  this  impostor  to  made  to  the 
dress  Monsieur  de  Martigues,  and  that  he  should  have  ^^^"^ 
no  other  physicians  nor  surgeons  but  him.    He  arrived 
very  soon  after  with  Monsieur  de  Martigues,  to  whom  he 
said,  "Senor  Cavallero  el  senor  Duque  de  Sahoya  me 


226  AMBROISE  PARE 

ha  mandado  que  viniesse  a  curar  vostra  herida,  yo  os 
jura  a  Dios,  que  antes  dei  ocho  dias  yo'os  haga  suhir  a 
History  of  cavdUo  con  la  lansa,  en  puno  con  tal  que  no  ayo  que  yo 
Impostor  quos  toque.  Comereis  y  hehereis  todas  comidas  que 
fueren  de  vostro  gusto,  y  yo  hare  la  dieta  pro  v.  m.  y 
desto'  OS  de  veis  aseguirar  sobre  de  mi:  yo  he  sanado 
munchos  que  tenian  mayores  heridas,  que  la  vostra'* 
That  is  to  say,  "Senor  Cavallero,  Monseigneur  le  Due 
de  Savoi  has  commanded  me  to  come  and  dress  your 
wound.  I  swear  to  you  by  God  that  before  eight  days  I 
will  make  you  mount  on  horseback,  lance  in  hand,  pro- 
vided that  no  one  touches  you  but  me.  You  shall  eat 
and  drink  all  the  viands  which  are  to  your  taste.  I  will 
be  dieted  instead  of  you ;  and  of  this  you  may  be  assured 
on  my  promise,  I  have  cured  many  who  had  greater 
wounds  than  yours."  He  asked  for  a  shirt  of  the  said 
Monsieur  de  Martigues  and  he  tore  it  in  little  strips, 
which  he  placed  like  a  cross,  murmuring  and  muttering 
certain  words  over  the  wounds ;  and  having  clothed  him, 
permitted  him  to  eat  and  drink  all  that  he  would  saying 
to  him  that  he  would  diet  for  him;  which  he  did,  eating 
but  six  prunes  and  six  morsels  of  bread  for  his  repast, 
drinking  only  beer.  Nevertheless,  two  days  afterwards 
the  said  Monsieur  de  Martigues  died,  and  my  Spaniard, 
seeing  him  in  his  agony,  hid  himself  and  got  away  with- 
out saying  goodbye  to  anyone ;  and  I  believe  that  if  he 
had  been  taken,  he  would  have  been  hanged  and  stran- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  227 

gled  for  the  false  promise  which  he  had  made  to  Mon- 
seigneur  le  Due  de  Savoi,  and  to  many  other  gentlemen. 
He  died  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning;  and  after 
dinner  Monseigneur  de  Savoi  sent  again  the  physicians 
and  surgeons,  and  his  apothecary,  with  a  quantity  of 
drugs  to  embalm  him.  They  came  accompanied  by 
many  gentlemen  and  captains  of  the  army. 

The  surgeon  of  the  Emperor  approached  me  and 
prayed  me  very  kindly  to  make  the  opening,  which  I 
refused,  telling  him  that  I  was  not  worthy  to  carry  his 
instrument  case  after  him.  He  prayed  me  again  to  do 
it  for  love  of  him,  and  that  he  would  be  very  glad  of  it. 
I  would  yet  again  have  excused  myself,  that  since  he 
had  not  the  wish  to  embalm  him,  he  would  give  the 
charge  to  another  surgeon  of  the  company.  He  an- 
swered me  again  that  he  would  it  should  be  I,  and  that  if 
I  would  not  do  it,  I  might  have  to  repent  it.  Knowing 
this  his  desire,  for  fear  that  he  should  do  me  some  dis- 
pleasure, I  took  the  razor,  and  presented  it  to  all  indi- 
vidually, telling  them  that  I  was  not  well-practiced  to 
do  such  an  operation;  which  they  all  refused. 

The  body  being  placed  upon  a  table,  verily  I  pro- 
posed to  show  them  that  I  was  an  anatomist,  declaring 
to  them  many  things  which  would  be  too  long  to  recite 
here.  I  commenced  by  telling  all  the  company  that  I 
held  it  assured  that  the  ball  had  broken  two  ribs,  and 
had  passed  through  the  lungs,  and  that  one  would  find 


228  AMBROISE  PARE 

the  wound  much  enlarged,  because  they  are  in  perpet- 
ual movement,  both  sleeping  and  waking,  and  by  this 
movement,  the  wound  was  more  torn;  also  that  there 
was  a  gi*eat  quantity  of  blood  diffused  in  the  chest  and 
on  the  diaphragm,  and  of  splinters  of  bone  from  the 
fractured  ribs,  which  the  entrance  of  the  ball  had  pushed 
within,  and  the  going  out  had  forced  without.  Now 
truly  all  that  I  had  told  them  was  found  in  this  dead 
body. 

One  of  the  physicians  asked  which  way  the  blood 
could  pass  to  be  cast  out  by  the  urine,  being  contained 
in  the  thorax;  I  answered  him  that  there  was  a  visible 
conduit,  which  is  the  azygos  vein,  which  having  nour- 
ished all  the  ribs,  its  remainder  descends  under  the 
diaphragm,  and  on  the  left  side  is  conjoined  with  the 
emulgent  vein,  which  is  the  way  by  which  the  matter 
of  the  pleurisy,  and  the  pus  of  empyemas,  empties  itself 
manifestly  by  the  urine  and  stools;  as  one  sees  Hkewise 
the  pure  milk  from  the  breasts  of  women  recently  ac- 
couched, descend  by  the  mammary  veins,  and  be  evac- 
uated downwards  by  the  neck  of  the  womb  without  be- 
ing mixed  with  blood,^^  and  such  a  thing  is  done  (as  by 
a  miracle  of  nature)  by  her  expulsive  and  sequestering 
virtue  which  is  seen  in  the  experiment  of  the  two  vessels 

"'For  this,  of  course,  erroneous  statement  Par6  gives  as  authorities, 
Galen,  "De  Decretis,"  and  Hippocrates,  "De  Eocis  Affectis."  It  should 
be  remembered  that  Par6  died  in  1590  and  that  Harvey's  demonstration  of 
the  circulation  of  the  blood  was  not  published  until  1628. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  229 

of  glass,  called  monte-vins,  the  one  of  which  should  be 
filled  with  water,  and  the  other  with  claret  wine;  and 
they  are  placed  one  upon  the  other,  to  wit,  that  which 
shall  be  filled  with  water  on  that  which  is  full  of  wine, 
one  sees  apparently  the  wine  mount  to  the  height  of  the 
vessels  right  through  the  water,  and  the  water  descend 
across  the  wine  and  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessels  with- 
out mixture  of  the  two ;  and  if  such  a  thing  accomplishes 
itself  exteriorly  and  openly  to  the  sense  of  sight,  by  in- 
animate things,  it  is  necessary  to  believe  in  our  under- 
standing, that  Nature  can  make  pus  and  blood  to  pass  A  good 
having  been  outside  their  vessels,  by  the  veins,  even  J"^^j^  *^ 
through  the  bones  unless  they  be  mixed  with  the  good  Surgeon 
blood. 

Our  discourse  finished,  I  embalmed  the  body ;  and  it 
was  placed  in  a  coffin.  After  that  the  surgeon  of  the 
Emperor  drew  me  apart  and  said  that  if  I  would  re- 
main with  him  he  would  treat  me  well,  and  that  he 
would  clothe  me  anew,  also  that  he  would  make  me  go 
on  horseback.  I  thanked  him  very  much  for  the  honor  Brave 
he  did  me,  but  said  that  I  had  no  desire  to  serve  foreign-  Answer 
ers  to  my  country.  Then  he  told  me  that  I  was  a  fool, 
and  that  if  he  was  a  prisoner  like  me,  he  would  serve 
a  devil  to  be  put  at  liberty.  In  the  end  I  told  him  flatly 
that  I  did  not  wish  to  stay  with  him. 

The  physician  of  the  Emperor  returned  to  Sei- 
gneur de  Savoi,  where  he  declared  the  cause  of  the  death 


230  AMBROISE  PARE 

of  Seigneur  Martigues,  and  that  it  was  impossible 
for  all  the  men  in  the  world  to  have  cured  him,  and  con- 
firmed to  him  again  that  I  had  done  all  that  it  was  nec- 
essary to  do,  and  prayed  him  to  take  me  into  his  service, 
and  said  to  him  more  good  of  me  than  there  was. 

Having  been  persuaded  to  take  me  in  his  service,  he 
gave  charge  to  one  of  his  maitres  d 'hotel,  named  Mon- 
sieur du  Bouchet,  to  tell  me  that  if  I  wished  to  remain 
in  his  service  he  would  use  me  well.  I  answered  him 
that  I  thanked  him  very  humbly,  but  that  I  had  decided 
not  to  remain  with  any  foreigner.  This  my  answer 
being  heard  by  the  Due  de  Savoi,  he  was  greatly  an- 
gered and  said  I  ought  to  be  sent  to  the  galleys. 

Monsieur  de  Vaudeville,  governor  of  Gravelines, 
and  colonel  of  seventeen  ensigns  of  infantry,  prayed 
him  to  give  me  to  him  to  dress  an  old  ulcer  that  he  had 
had  on  his  leg  for  six  or  seven  years.  Monsieur  de 
Savoi  told  him  that  for  what  I  was  worth  he  was  con- 
tent, and  that  if  I  put  the  fire  to  (cauterized)  his  leg, 
it  would  serve  him  right.  He  answered  that  if  he  per- 
ceived anything  like  it,  he  would  cause  my  throat  to 
be  cut. 

Soon  after  Seigneur  de  Vaudeville  sent  four  Ger- 
man halberdiers  of  his  guard  to  seek  me  which  aston- 
ished me  very  much,  not  knowing  whither  they  led  me, 
they  not  speaking  any  more  French  than  I  did  German. 
Being  arrived  at  his  lodging,  he  told  me  that  I  was  wel- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  231 

come  and  that  I  belonged  to  him,  and  that,  as  soon  as 
I  had  cured  him  of  an  ulcer  which  he  had  on  his  leg,  he 
would  give  me  my  freedom  (conge)  without  taking  any 
ransom  of  me.  I  told  him  that  I  had  no  means  of  pay- 
ing any  ransom. 

Then  he  called  his  physician  and  surgeon-in-ordi- 
nary to  show  me  his  ulcerated  leg.  Having  seen  and 
considered  it  we  retired  apart  in  a  chamber,  where  I 
commenced  by  saying  to  them  that  the  said  ulcer  was 
annular,  not  being  simple,  but  complicated,  to  wit,  of  a 
round  form  and  scaly,  having  the  borders  hard  and 
callous,  hollowed  out  and  filthy,  accompanied  by  a  large 
varicose  vein  which  continually  steeped  it,  besides  a 
great  swelling  and  phlegmonous  distemperature,  very 
painful  throughout  the  leg,  in  a  body  of  very  choleric 
temperament,  as  the  hair  of  his  face  and  his  countenance 
indicated.  The  method  of  curing  it  (if  cured  it  could 
be)  is  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  conmience  with 
things  universal,  to  wit,  with  purgation,  with  bleeding, 
and  with  his  manner  of  living,  that  he  should  not  use 
any  wine,  nor  salted  meats,  nor  highly  seasoned,  and  in 
general  those  which  would  heat  the  blood.  After  that 
it  was  necessary  to  commence  the  cure  by  making  di- 
vers scarifications  about  the  said  ulcer,  and  cutting  away 
altogether  the  callous  borders,  to  give  it  a  shape  long 
or  triangular,  because  the  round  [ulcer]  can  hardly  be 
cured,  as  the  ancients  have  left  it  in  writing,  which  one 


232  AMBROISE  PARE 

sees  by  experience.  That  done  it  would  be  necessary  to 
cleanse  the  filthy  and  rotten  flesh  from  the  ulcer,  which 
should  be  done  with  unguentum  aegyptiacum,^*  and 
over  it  a  compress  soaked  in  the  juice  of  plantain  and 
of  nightshade,  and  oxycrate;  and  it  was  necessary  to 
bandage  his  leg,  beginning  at  the  foot  and  finishing  at 
the  knee,  and  not  forgetting  to  put  a  small  compress  on 
the  varicose  vein,  to  the  end  that  no  superfluities  should 
flow  to  the  ulcer.  Moreover,  that  he  should  keep  him- 
self at  rest  in  his  bed,  which  is  ordered  by  Hippocrates, 
who  said  that  those  who  have  sore  legs  should  not  hold 
themselves  upright  nor  seated,  but  lying  down.  And 
after  these  things  were  done,  and  the  ulcer  well  cleaned, 
one  should  apply  over  it  a  plate  of  lead  rubbed  and 
whitened  with  quicksilver.  These  are  the  means  by 
which  Monsieur  de  Vaudeville  can  be  cured  of  his 
ulcer.  All  which  they  found  good.  Then  the  physician 
left  me  with  the  surgeon  and  went  away  to  Seigneur  de 
Vaudeville  to  tell  him  that  he  was  sure  I  could  cure  him, 
and  told  him  all  I  had  resolved  to  do  for  the  cure  of  his 
ulcer  of  which  he  was  very  glad.  He  sent  for  me  and 
asked  me  if  I  thought  to  cure  his  ulcer;  I  told  him  yes, 
provided  that  he  was  obedient  and  did  that  which  was 
needful.     He  promised  me  that  he  would  do  entirely 

"An  escharotic  ointment  dating  back  at  least  as  far  as  the  ninth 
century,  when  it  is  found  described  by  the  Arabian  Mesue.  Its  chief  in- 
gredients were  vinegar  and  verdigris.  It  retained  its  place  in  some 
pharmacopeias  into  the  nineteenth  century. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  233 

what  I  wished  and  ordered,  and  that  so  soon  as  his  ulcer 
was  cured,  he  would  give  me  hberty  to  return  without 
paying  any  ransom.  Then  I  prayed  him  to  come  to  a 
better  settlement  with  me,  remonstrating  that  the  time 
would  be  too  long  to  be  out  of  liberty,  until  he  should 
be  entirely  cured,  and  that  within  fifteen  days  I  hoped 
to  do  so  that  his  ulcer  would  be  diminished  more  than 
one-half,  and  would  be  without  pain,  and  for  that  which 
remained  his  surgeon  and  physician  could  finish  the 
cure.  He  granted  this.  Then  I  took  a  piece  of  paper 
to  take  the  size  of  his  ulcer,  which  I  gave  him,  and  kept 
another  by  me.  I  prayed  him  that  he  would  keep  his 
promise,  when  he  knew  the  work  was  done.  He  swore 
to  me  on  the  faith  of  a  gentleman  that  he  would  do  it. 
Then  I  resolved  to  dress  him  well,  according  to  the 
method  of  Galen,  which  was  that  after  having  taken  all 
foreign  matters  from  the  ulcer,  and  that  there  remained 
nothing  but  filling  in  with  flesh,  I  dressed  him  only  once 
a  day,  and  he  found  that  very  strange,  and  likewise 
his  physician  who  was  but  freshwater  [green]  who 
wished  to  persuade  me,  with  the  patient,  to  dress  him 
two  or  three  times  a  day.  I  prayed  him  to  let  me  alone, 
that  what  I  did  was  not  to  prolong  the  cure,  on  the  con- 
trary to  shorten  it,  for  the  desire  that  I  had  to  be  at 
liberty,  and  that  if  he  would  look  in  Galen,  in  the  fourth 
book,  "Of  the  Composition  of  Medicaments  according  to 
their  kinds,"  that  if  a  medicament  does  not  remain  a 


234 


AMBROISE  PARE 


Why  it  is 
not  neces- 
sary to 
change 
plasters 
frequently 


long  time  on  the  part,  it  does  not  profit  so  much  as 
when  it  is  left  a  long  time,  a  thing  which  some  physi- 
cians have  ignored,  and  have  thought  that  it  is  better  to 
change  the  plasters  often,  and  this  bad  custom  is  so 
inveterate  and  rooted  that  patients  even  often  accuse 
the  surgeons  of  neghgence  that  they  change  not  more 
often  the  plasters;  but  they  are  deceived.  For,  as  you 
have  understood  and  read  in  divers  places  in  my  works, 
the  qualities  of  all  bodies  which  touch  one  another  act 
the  one  against  the  other,  and  both  suffer  something, 
where  one  of  them  is  much  stronger  than  the  other,  by 
means  thereof  the  said  qualities  are  united  and  they  be- 
come familiarized  with  time,  although  they  be  very  dif- 
ferent; such  way  the  quality  of  the  medicament  unites 
itself  with  and  sometimes  becomes  like  that  of  the  body, 
which  is  a  very  useful  thing.  Therefore,  one  should 
much  praise  him  who  first  discovered  the  practice  of 
not  using  so  frequently  fresh  plasters;  moreover,  we 
know  by  experience  that  this  discovery  is  good.  More- 
over, it  is  again  a  great  fault  in  dressing  ulcers  fre- 
quently to  wipe  them  very  hard,  because  one  takes 
away  not  only  the  useless  excrement  which  is  the  pus 
or  sanies  of  the  ulcer,  but  also  the  matter  from  which 
the  flesh  is  formed.  Therefore,  for  the  above  stated 
reasons,  it  is  not  necessary  to  dress  ulcers  so  often. 

The  Seigneur  de  Vaudeville  would  understand  if 
that  which  I  alleged  from  Galen  was  true,  and  com- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  235 

manded  his  physician  to  look  there  for  it,  and  as  he 
wished  to  know  it  for  himself.  He  caused  the  book  to 
be  put  on  the  table,  where  my  words  were  found  true, 
and  the  said  physician  was  made  ashamed,  and  I  very 
glad.  The  Seigneur  de  Vaudeville  deisred  no  more  to 
be  dressed  more  than  once  a  day,  of  such  sort  that  within 
the  fifteen  days  his  ulcer  was  nearly  all  cicatrized.  The 
agreement  being  made  between  us,  I  began  to  be  merry. 
He  made  me  eat  and  drink  at  his  table,  when  there 
were  no  more  men  of  rank  than  he  and  me. 

He  gave  me  a  great  red  scarf  which  he  commanded 
me  to  wear.  I  can  say  I  was  as  glad  of  it  as  a  dog  to 
which  they  give  a  clog,  for  fear  that  he  will  go  to  the 
vines  to  eat  the  grapes.  The  physician  and  surgeon  led 
me  through  the  camp  to  visit  their  wounded,  where  I 
took  notice  what  our  enemies  were  doing.  I  saw  that 
they  had  no  more  great  pieces  of  artillery,  but  only 
twenty-five  or  thirty  fieldpieces. 

Monsieur  de  Vaudeville  held  prisoner  Monsieur  de 
Bauge,  brother  of  Monsieur  de  Martigues,  who  died  at 
Hesdin.  The  said  Monsieur  de  Bauge  was  prisoner 
at  the  Chateau  de  la  Motte  au  Bois,  belonging  to  the 
Emperor.  He  had  been  taken  at  Theroiienne  by  two 
Spanish  soldiers.  The  Seigneur  de  Vaudeville  having 
held  him  concluded  he  should  be  some  gentleman  of 
a  good  house  (family).  He  had  his  stockings  pulled 
off,  and  seeing  his  shoes  and  feet  clean,  with  his  socks 


236 


AMBROISE  PARE 


Monsieur 
de  Bauge, 
prisoner, 
sold  for 
thirty  ecus 


very  white  and  thin,  such  things  confirmed  him  further 
that  he  was  a  man  to  pay  some  good  ransom.  He  de- 
manded of  the  soldiers  if  they  would  take  thirty  ecus 
for  their  prisoner  and  that  he  would  give  it  to  them  at 
once;  to  which  they  agreed  willingly,  because  they  had 
no  means  of  guarding  him,  and  less  of  nourishing  him, 
joined  to  which  they  did  not  know  his  value,  therefore 
they  delivered  their  prisoner  into  the  hands  of  Monsieur 
de  Vaudeville,  who  at  once  sent  him  with  a  guard  of 
four  soldiers  to  the  Chateau  de  la  Motte  au  Bois,  with 
others  of  our  gentlemen  who  were  prisoners.  The 
Seigneur  de  Bauge  did  not  wish  to  reveal  who  he  was, 
and  endured  much,  being  on  bread  and  water,  and 
couched  on  a  little  straw.  Seigneur  de  Vaudeville,  after 
the  capture  of  Hesdin,  sent  word  to  Seigneur  de  Bauge 
and  the  other  prisoners  that  the  place  of  Hesdin  had 
been  taken,  and  the  list  of  those  who  had  been  killed 
and  among  the  others  Monsieur  de  Martigues;  and 
when  Monsieur  de  Bauge  heard  sounds  in  his  ears,  that 
his  brother  Monsieur  de  Martigues  was  dead,  he  be- 
gan crying,  weeping,  and  lamenting.  His  guards  de- 
manded of  him  why  he  made  so  many  such  piteous 
lamentations,  he  told  them  it  was  for  the  love  of  Mon- 
sieur de  Martigues,  his  brother.  Having  heard  this 
the  captain  of  the  chateau  despatched  quickly  a  man  to 
announce  to  Monsieur  de  Vaudeville  that  he  had  a  good 
prisoner,  who  having  received  this  news  rejoiced  greatly 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  237 

and  the  next  day  sent  me  with  four  soldiers  and  his  phy- 
sician to  the  Chateau  de  la  Motte  au  Bois'to  know 
if  his  prisoner  would  give  him  fifteen  thousand  crowns 
for  ransom,  and  he  would  send  him  free  to  his  own 
house,  and  for  the  present  he  demanded  only  the 
security  of  two  merchants  of  Antwerp  whom  he  should 
name.  The  said  de  Vaudeville  persuaded  me  that  I 
should  make  his  prisoner  agree  to  this;  that  is  why  he 
sent  me  to  the  Chateau  de  la  Motte  au  Bois.  He  or- 
dered the  captain  of  the  chateau  to  treat  him  well  and 
put  him  in  a  tapestried  room,  also  that  they  should  re- 
inforce his  guard  and  from  now  on  make  him  good 
cheer  at  his  expense. 

The  answer  of  Monsieur  de  Bauge  was  that  he 
could  not  put  himself  to  ransom,  and  that  it  would  de- 
pend on  Monsieur  d'Estampes,  his  uncle,  and  Made- 
moiselle de  Bressure,  his  aunt,  and  he  had  no  means 
of  paying  such  a  ransom.  I  returned  with  my  guards 
to  Seigneur  de  Vaudeville  and  made  to  him  the  answer 
of  the  prisoner,  who  told  me  that  possibly  he  would 
not  go  forth  at  so  good  a  bargain;  which  was  true,  be- 
cause he  was  found  out,  whereof  forthwith  the  Queen 
of  Hungary  and  Monsieur  le  Due  de  Savoi  sent  word 
to  Monsieur  de  Vaudeville  that  this  morsel  was  a  little 
too  big  for  him,  and  that  he  must  send  him  to  them 
(which  he  did)  and  that  he  had  enough  other  prison- 


238  AMBROISE  PARE 

ers  without  this  one.  He  was  put  to  ransom  at  forty 
thousand  ecus  besides  other  expenses. 

Returning  to  Monsieur  de  Vaudeville  I  passed  by 
Saint  Omer  where  I  saw  their  great  pieces  of  artillery, 
whereof  the  most  part  were  fouled  and  broken.  I  re- 
passed likewise  Theroiienne,  where  I  saw  not  one  stone 
left  on  another,  except  a  vestige  of  the  great  church, 
for  the  Emperor  had  ordered  the  peasants  for  five  or 
six  leagues  about,  that  they  should  remove  and  carry 
away  the  stones  so  that  now  you  can  drive  a  cart  over 
the  town.  As  was  likewise  done  at  Hesdin  (leaving)  no 
vestige  of  the  chateau  or  fortress.  See  the  misfortune 
which  wars  bring.  And  to  return  to  my  discourse :  soon 
after  Monsieur  de  Vaudeville  was  very  well  of  his  ulcer, 
and  it  was  nearly  cured  which  was  cause  that  he  should 
give  me  leave  to  go,  and  he  caused  me  to  be  conducted 
with  a  passport  by  a  trumpet  as  far  as  Abbeville,  where 
I  took  post,  and  sought  the  King  Henri  my  master  at 
Aufimon  who  received  me  gladly  and  with  good  grace. 

He  sent  for  Messieurs  de  Guise,  the  constable,  and 
d'Estres  to  hear  from  me  that  which  had  passed  at 
the  taking  of  Hesdin,  and  I  made  them  a  faithful  re- 
port of  it,  and  assured  them  I  had  seen  the  great  pieces 
of  artillery  they  had  taken  to  Saint  Omer ;  of  which  the 
King  was  glad,  because  he  had  feared  the  enemy  would 
come  further  into  France.  He  gave  me  two  hundred 
ecus  to  take  me  home,  and  I  was  glad  to  be  at  liberty, 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


239 


and  out  of  the  great  torment  and  noise  like  thunder 
of  the  devilish  artillery  and  far  from  the  soldiers,  blas- 
phemers and  deniers  of  God.  I  wish  to  say  that  at  the 
taking  of  Hesdin  the  King  was  told  that  I  was  not  killed 
but  that  I  was  a  prisoner.  He  made  Monsieur  du  Go- 
guier,  his  first  physician,  write  to  my  wife  that  I  was 
living  and  that  she  should  not  be  troubled,  and  that  he 
would  pay  my  ransom. 


Grenadier  Lighting  His  Grenade. 
(Lacroie.) 


The  Battle  of  Saint  Quentin,  1557 


60 


FTER  the  battle  of  Saint  Quentin,  the 
King  sent  me  to  la  Fere-en-Tardenois, 
to  Monsieur  le  Mareschal  de  Bourdillon, 

J J  to   give   me   a   passport   to   the   Due    de 

Savoi  to  go  dress  Monsieur  le  Connestable,^^  who  had 

Thj> 

Constable     t)een  greatly  wounded  by  a  pistol  shot  in  the  back, 
wounded  in  whereof  he  was  like  to  die  and  remained  a  prisoner  in 

the  back 

the  enemy's  hands.  But  the  Due  de  Savoi  would  not 
consent  that  I  should  go  to  the  said  Seigneur  le  Con- 
nestable,  saying  that  he  would  not  remain  without  a 

"The  town  of  Saint  Quentin  was  very  inadequately  fortified  by  ancient 
walls  which  had  fallen  down  in  many  places.  It  was  garrisoned  by  a 
mere  handful  of  troops.  When  it  was  learned  that  the  troops  of  Charles 
V  were  going  to  attack  it  Admiral  Coligny  with  a  few  hundred  men 
threw  himself  into  the  city  and  determined  to  make  an  obstinate  defence. 
The  Due  de  Savoi  commanded  the  Spanish  troops  which  marched  to  the 
attack.  The  Constable  Anne  de  Montmorenci  hastened  to  the  rescue  as 
the  fall  of  St.  Quentin  would  imperil  Paris,  and  the  great  importance  of 
holding  the  town  was  fully  realized.  As  the  enemy  were  much  superior 
in  the  number  and  quality  of  their  troops,  the  Constable  had  intended 
merely  to  cover  a  force  under  Andelot,  the  brother  of  Coligny,  which 
was  to  be  thrown  into  Saint  Quentin  to  reinforce  the  garrison.  The  at- 
tempt failed,  as  the  boats  necessary  to  get  the  French  across  the  Somme 
were  not  ready  at  the  critical  time.  Only  a  very  few  under  Andelot  suc- 
ceeded in  entering.  As  the  Constable  was  returning  with  his  main  body, 
he  was  intercepted  by  the  Imperialists  and  was  forced  to  fight  on  August 
10,  1557.  The  result  was  a  terrible  defeat  for  the  French.  The  Constable, 
Mareschal  Saint-Andre,  and  many  other  French  noblemen  were  made 
prisoners,  with  7,000  others;  and  over  six  hundred  gentlemen,  and  2,500 
men  were  killed.  The  Spanish  lost  the  great  advantages  which  might  have 
accrued  from  their  victory  because  they  determined  to  stay  and  besiege 
the  town.  Under  Coligny's  leadership  it  held  out  for  fifteen  days,  when 
it  was  finally  taken  by  assault  and  sacked.  Coligny  was  made  prisoner. 
He  had,  however,  saved  Paris  by  the  delay  he  caused  to  the  Imperial 
army  as  it  afforded  time  for  Henri  II  to  organize  its  defence. 
"Anne  de  Montmorenci. 

240 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  241 

surgeon,  and  that  he  doubted  very  much  if  I  was  go- 
ing solely  to  dress  him  but  rather  to  give  some  message 
to  the  said  Monsieur  le  Connestable,  and  that  he  knew 
that  I  knew  very  well  how  to  do  other  things  than  sur- 
gery, and  that  he  knew  me  for  having  been  his  prisoner 
at  Hesdin.  Monsieur  le  Mareschal  de  Bourdillon  no- 
tified the  King  of  the  refusal  the  Due  de  Savoi  had 
made.  He  [the  King]  wrote  to  Seigneur  de  Bourdil- 
lon, that  if  Madame  la  Connestable  would  send  some 
one  of  her  household  who  was  a  clever  man,  that  I 
would  give  him  a  letter,  and  that  I  had  also  something 
to  say  to  him  by  word  of  mouth  which  the  King  and 
Monsieur  le  Cardinal  de  Lorraine^^  had  entrusted  to 
me.  Two  days  after  there  arrived  a  valet  de  chambre 
of  the  said  Monsieur  le  Connestable,  who  carried  to 
him  shirts  and  other  linen,  to  whom  Seigneur  le 
Mareschal  gave  a  passport  to  go  to  Seigneur  le  Con- 
nestable. I  was  very  glad  and  gave  him  my  letter,  and 
gave  him  his  lesson  of  that  which  his  master  should 
do  being  prisoner. 

I  thought  having  finished  my  mission,  to  return  to 
the  King;  but  Seigneur  de  Bourdillon  prayed  me  to  re- 
main at  la  Fere  with  him,  to  dress  a  great  number  of 
wounded  who  had  retired  there  after  the  battle;  and 
that  he  would  write  to  the  King  the  cause  of  my  re- 

"Charles  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  brother  of  Francois,  Due  de  Guise,  was 
made  Archbishop  of  Rheims  when  fifteen  years  old.     He  died  in  1574. 


242  AMBROISE  PARE 

maining,  which  I  did.  The  wounds  of  the  injured  were 
very  putrid,  and  full  of  worms,  with  gangrene  and 
rottenness  so  that  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  use  the 
knife  to  amputate  that  which  was  corrupt,  and  it  was 
not  done  without  cutting  off  arms  and  legs,  and  also 
many  trepannings.  But  they  found  no  medicaments 
at  la  Fere,  because  the  surgeons  of  our  camp  had  car- 
ried them  all  away.  I  found  out  that  the  artillery 
wagons  remained  at  la  Fere,  and  that  they  had  not  yet 
been  touched.  I  told  the  said  Seigneur  le  Mareschal 
that  he  should  cause  to  be  delivered  to  me  a  part  of  the 
drugs  which  were  in  them;  which  he  did,  and  I  was 
given  the  half  only  at  one  time,  and  five  or  six  days 
after  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  take  all  the  rest;  and 
yet  there  was  not  half  enough  to  dress  the  great  num- 
ber of  wounded.  And  to  correct  and  arrest  the  putre- 
faction, and  kill  the  worms  which  were  in  their  wounds, 
I  washed  them  with  aegyptiacum  dissolved  in  wine 
and  brandy,  and  did  all  which  I  could  for  them ;  never- 
theless, with  all  my  diligence,  many  of  them  died. 

_-  There  were  at  la  Fere  gentlemen  who  had  charge 

J.  he  corpse 

of  Bois-       to  find  the  dead  body  of  Monsieur  de  Bois-Dauphin, 
th^ elder      *^^  elder,  who  had  been  killed  in  the  battle ;  they  prayed 
conld  not     me  to  be  willing  to  go  with  them  to  the  camp  to  pick 
him  out  from  among  the  dead,  if  possible  to  recognize 
him;  seeing  that  the  bodies  were  all  disfigured  and  de- 
stroyed by  putrefaction.    We  saw  more  than  a  half  a 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  243 

league  about  us  the  earth  all  covered  with  dead  bodies; 
and  we  could  scarcely  remain  there  because  of  the  great 
cadaverous  stench  which  raised  itself  from  the  bodies  as 
much  of  men  as  of  the  horses,  and  I  believe  that  we  were 
the  cause  of  making  rise  up  from  these  bodies  a  great 
number  of  big  flies  which  had  procreated  themselves 
from  the  humidity  of  the  dead  bodies  and  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  having  their  tails  green  and  blue,  that  being  in  the 
air  they  made  a  shadow  in  the  sun.  We  heard  them  buz- 
zing with  great  wonder ;  and  I  believe  that  there  where 
they  settled  it  would  render  the  air  pestilent  and  cause 
the  plague. 

Mon  petit  mcdstre,  I  wish  you  had  been  there,  as  I 
was,  to  discern  the  odors  and  also  to  make  report  there- 
of to  them  that  were  not  there. 

I  was  very  much  wearied  there.  I  prayed  Monsieur 
le  Mareschal  to  give  me  leave  to  go  away,  and  was 
afraid  of  remaining  there  sick,  by  reason  of  my  too 
great  work,  and  the  stench  of  the  wounded,  who  almost 
all  died,  whatever  diligence  I  could  use.  He  made 
surgeons  come  to  finish  the  treatment  of  the  wounded, 
and  I  went  awaj?-  with  his  good  grace.  He  wrote  a  let- 
ter to  the  King  of  the  pains  that  I  had  taken  for  the 
poor  wounded.  Then  I  returned  to  Paris,  where  I 
found  again  many  gentlemen  who  had  been  wounded, 
who  had  retired  there  after  the  battle. 


The  Journey  to  the  Camp  at  Amiens,  1558 


T 


the  Author 


HE    King    sent    me    to    Dourlan^^    and 
caused  me  to   be  conducted    by    Captain 
Gouast  with  fifty  men-at-arms,  for  fear  that 
I  should  be  taken  by  the  enemy,  and  see- 
ing that  we  were  always  in  alarms,  by  the  way,   I 
caused  my  man  to  dismount,  and  made  that  he  should 
be  master;  for  I  got  on  his  horse,  which  carried  my 
Ruse  of       bag,  and  would  foot  it  well  if  it  were  necessary  to  fly, 
and  took  his  cloak  and  hat,  and  gave  him  my  mount 
which  was  a  beautiful  little  hackney  mare.     My  man 
being  up,  one  would  have  taken  him  for  the  master  and 
me  for  his  valet.     Those  in  Dourlan,  seeing  us  from 
afar,  thought  we  were  enemies  and  fired  cannon-shot 
at  us.    Captain  Gouast,  my  conductor,  made  a  sign  to 
them  with  his  hat  that  we  were  not  enemies;  at  length 
they  ceased  firing  and  we  entered  Dourlan  with  great 

joy. 

Those  in  Dourlan  had  made  a  sortie  on  the  enemy 
five  or  six  days  before;  who  killed  and  wounded  many 
of  our  captains  and  good  soldiers,  and  among  the  others. 
Captain  Saint  Aubin,  valiant  as  the  sword,  whom  Mon- 
sieur de  Guise  loved  much,  and  for  whom  principally  the 
King  had  sent  me  there.    Who,  being  in  an  access  of 

"Dourlan  is  now  called  Doullens. 

244 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  245 

quartan  fever,  would  go  forth  to  command  the  greater 
part  of  liis  company.  A  Spaniard,  seeing  that  he 
commanded,  perceived  him  to  be  a  captain,  and  shot 
him  with  an  arquebus  right  through  the  neck.  My  Cap- 
tain Saint  Aubin  thought  he  was  dead  of  this  shot  and 
from  the  fright;  I  protest  to  God  he  lost  his  quartan 
fever  and  was  delivered  altogether  from  it.  I  dressed 
him  with  Antoine  Portail,^^  surgeon-in-ordinary  of  the 
King,  and  many  other  soldiers.  Some  died,  the  others 
escaped,  quits  for  an  arm  or  a  leg,  or  the  loss  of  an  eye, 
and  these  said  they  had  got  off  cheap,  those  that  could 
escape.  When  the  enemy  had  broken  their  camp,  I  re- 
turned to  Paris. 

Here  I  say  nothing  to  inon  petit  maistre,  who  was 
more  at  his  ease  in  his  house  than  I  at  the  wars. 

"Antoine  Portail  was  born  at  Beam  in  1530.  He  came  in  the  suite 
of  Jeanne  d'Albret  to  Paris,  where  he  studied  and  became  a  barber-sur- 
geon. He  married  a  relative  of  Fare's  first  wife.  He  became  surgeon- 
in-ordinary  to  Henri  II,  Charles  IX,  and  Henri  III.  Henri  IV  made  him 
his  premier  surgeon.  He  once  injured  a  nerve  in  the  arm  of  Charles  IX 
while  bleeding  him.  He  was  closely  associated  with  Pare  over  a  period  of 
years.  In  1561  he  dressed  Pare's  leg  when  it  was  fractured.  The  exact 
date  of  his  death  is  unknown.  Peyrilhe  says  he  died  on  April  20,  1607, 
but  Le  Paulmier  proves  this  statement  to  be  erroneous  because  he  was 
still  premier  surgeon  to  the  King  in  1609. 


The  Journey  to  Bourges,  1562 


65 


HE    king    with    his    camp    remained    but 
a     short    time     at    Bourges     until    those 
I  within    should    surrender  themselves;    and 

they  went  forth  with  their  jewels  saved. 
I  know  nothing  worthy  of  memory,  save  that  a 
boy  of  the  King's  privy  kitchen  having  approached 
to  the  walls  before  they  had  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment, cried  out  with  a  loud  voice  "Huguenot,  Hugue- 
not, shoot  here."  Having  his  arm  raised  and  his 
hand  extended,  a  soldier  shot  his  hand  right  through 
with  a  bullet.  Having  received  the  shot,  he  came  to  find 
me  to  dress  him.    Monsieur  le  Connestable  seeing  this 

*I  have  followed  Paget's  example  in  placing  the  Journey  to  Bourges, 
the  Journey  to  Rouen,  and  Fare's  account  of  the  Battle  of  Dreux  in 
their  chronological  sequence,  in  the  year  1562,  and  placed  after  them  his 
account  of  his  Journey  to  Havre  de  Grace,  which  took  place  in  1563. 
The  year  1562  has  been  termed,  by  the  historian  Batifol,  one  of  the  most 
lamentable  in  the  history  of  France.  The  war  between  the  Huguenots  and 
the  Catholics  was  at  its  height;  Charles  IX  was  King,  but  his  mother, 
Catherine  de  Medici,  was  regent,  and  with  the  Guises  she  had  determined 
to  exterminate  Protestantism  in  France.  Led  by  Conde  and  Coligny,  the 
Huguenots  were  putting  up  a  desperate  fight  for  existence.  Many  cities 
including  Rouen  and  Bourges  were  occupied  by  the  Huguenots,  accom- 
panied by  English  troops,  which  Elizabeth  had  sent  to  aid  their  cause. 
The  garrison  was  under  command  of  Gabriel  de  Montgomeri,  Comte 
de  Lorges.  He  had  been  captain  of  the  Scottish  Guards  of  Henri 
II.  At  a  tournament  which  was  held  at  Paris  in  1557,  he  had  had  the 
misfortune  to  accidentally  kill  the  King  while  jousting  with  him.  He  fled 
to  England,  became  a  Protestant,  and  was  thenceforth  prominent  among 
the  Huguenot  leaders.  Catherine  de  Medici  never  forgave  him  for  the 
death  of  her  husband,  and  when  he  was  captured,  after  surrendering 
under  promise  that  his  life  would  be  spared,  at  Domfront  in  1574,  he  was 
taken  to  Paris,  tried  for  high  treason,  found  guilty  and  beheaded  and 
quartered.     Catherine  witnessed  the  execution. 

246 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


247 


boy,  having  his  hand  all  bloody,  and  in  tears,  asked  him 
who  had  wounded  him :  then  there  was  a  gentleman  who 
having  seen  him  shot,  said  that  it  was  well  deserved, 
because   he  had   cried   "Huguenot,    strike   here,   aim 


Mangonnel  or  Mangonneau. 
♦'  (Locrowc.) 

here."  Then  Seigneur  le  Connestable  said  that  this 
Huguenot  was  a  good  arquebusier,  and  had  a  good  con- 
science, because  it  was  very  likely  if  he  had  wished  to 
shoot  him  in  the  head,  he  could  have  done  it  yet  more 
easily  than  in  the  hand.  I  dressed  the  cook,  who  was 
very  sick.  He  recovered,  but  with  loss  of  the  use  of 
his  hand,  and  ever  since  his  companions  call  him 
"Huguenot";  he  is  yet  living. 


The  Journey  to  Rouen,  1562 


N 


OW  as  for  the  taking  of  Rouen,  they  killed 
many  of  ours  before  and  at  the  assault: 
the  next  day,  even,  after  we  had  entered 
into  the  city,  I  trepanned  eight  or  nine  of 
them  who  had  been  wounded  in  the  breach  by  blows 
with  stones.  There  was  so  malignant  an  air  that 
it  caused  many  deaths,  even  from  very  little  wounds,  in 
such  sort  that  some  thought  that  they  had  poisoned 
their  bullets.  Those  within  said  the  same  of  us:  for 
though  they  had  been  well-furnished  for  their  necessities 
within  the  city,  they  died  just  as  those  without. 

The  King  of  Navarre®  ®  was  wounded  some  days  be- 
fore the  assault  by  a  bullet  shot  in  the  shoulder.  I  visited 
History  of  ^^^  ^^^  aided  in  dressing  him  with  his  surgeon,  named 

the  wound    Maitre  Gilbert,  one  of  the  chief  [surgeons]  of  Montpel- 
of  the  King     .  L        &  J  ± 

of  Navarre  licr,  and  others.  They  could  not  find  the  ball.  I 
searched  for  it  very  exactly.  I  perceived  by  conjec- 
ture that  it  had  entered  by  the  head  of  the  bone  at  the 
top  of  the  arm,  and  that  it  had  run  into  the  cavity  of 
the  bone,  which  was  the  cause  that  they  could  not  find 
it.    The  greater  part  said  it  had  entered  and  was  lost 

•"Antoine  de  Bourbon,  brother  of  the  Prince  de  Cond^,  was  born  in 
1518,  He  was  first  Due  de  Vendome,  but  became  King  of  Navarre  in 
1548,  by  his  marriage  with  Jeanne  d'Albret.  He  had  been  a  supporter  of 
the  Huguenot  cause  but  had  gone  over  to  the  Catholics. 

248 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  249 

in  the  body.  Monsieur  le  Prince  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon, 
who  loved  intimately  the  King  of  Navarre,  drew  me 
apart  and  asked  if  the  shot  was  mortal.  I  told  him  yes, 
because  all  wounds  made  in  the  great  joints,  and  es- 
pecially contused  wounds,  were  mortal,  according  to 
all  the  authors  who  had  written  of  them.  He  inquired  of 
the  others  what  they  thought,  and  chiefly  of  the  said 
Gilbert  who  told  him  he  had  great  hope  that  the  King, 
his  Master,  would  recover;  and  the  Prince  was  very 
glad. 

Four  days  later  the  King^^  and  the  Queen  Mother,^* 
and  Monsieur  le  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  his  brother,  and 
Monsieur  le  Prince  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon,  and  Monsieur 
de  Guise,  and  other  grand  personages,  after  we  had 
dressed  the  King  of  Navarre,  wished  us  to  hold  a  consul- 
tation in  their  presence,  where  there  were  many  physi- 
cians and  surgeons.  Each  said  that  which  he  thought, 
and  there  was  not  one  of  them  but  had  good  hope  (they 
said)  that  the  King  would  recover,  and  I  persisted  al-  Consulta- 
ways  to  the  contrary.     Monseigneur  le  Prince  de  la  i^onforthe 

King  of 

Roche-sur-Yon,  who  loved  me,  drew  me  apart,  and  told  Navarre 
me  that  I  was  alone  against  the  opinion  of  all  the 
others,  and  prayed  me  not  to  be  obstinate  against  so 
many  men  of  worth.    I  answered  him,  that  when  I  saw 
good  signs  of  recovery,   I  would  change  my  advice. 

""Charles  IX. 
"Catherine  de  Medici. 


250  AMBROISE  PARE 

Many  consultations  were  held,  where  I  never  changed 
my  word,  and  the  prognosis  which  I  had  made  at  the 
first  dressing,  and  I  said  always  that  the  arm  would  be- 
come   gangrenous,    which    it    did,    whatsoever    great 


Bullet  Forceps. 

diligence  they  had  used  to  it ;  and  he  rendered  his  spirit 
to  God,  the  eighteenth  day  after  his  wound. 
the  King  of  Monsicur  Ic  Priucc  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon,  having 
Navarre  heard  of  the  death  of  the  said  King,  sent  to  me  his  sur- 
geon and  physician  named  le  Fevre,^**  now  physician-in- 
ordinary  to  the  King  and  the  Queen  Mother,  to  tell  me 
that  he  wished  to  have  the  ball,  and  that  we  should  search 
for  it  in  whatever  place  it  was.  Then  I  was  glad,  and 
told  them  that  I  was  well-assured  of  finding  it  very  soon; 
which  I  did  in  their  presence  and  that  of  many  gentle- 
men; it  was  just  in  the  middle  of  the  cavity  of  the  bone 

••Charles  le  Fevre  was  physidan-in-ordinary  to  Charles  IX,  Henry  III, 
and  Catherine  de  Medici. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


251 


at  the  top  of  the  arm.  The  said  Prince  having  it, 
showed  it  to  the  King  and  the  Queen,  who  both  said  that 
my  prognosis  was  found  true.  The  body  was  put  at 
rest  in  the  Chateau  Gaillard,  and  I  returned  to  Paris, 
where  I  found  many  sick,  who  had  been  wounded  at 
the  breach  of  Rouen,  and  principally  Italians,  who  de- 
sired me  very  much  to  dress  their  wounds,  which  I  did 
willingly.  There  were  many  who  recovered;  the  rest 
died. 

I  believe,  mon  petit  maistre,  that  you  were  called  to 
dress  some  of  them,  for  the  great  number  that  there 
were. 


DiflFerent  Types  of  Cannon. 

(Sixteenth  Century.) 


The  Journey  to  the  Battle  of  Dreuoc,  1562 


70 


Death  of 
the   Comte 
d'Eu 


HE  day  after  the  battle  at  Dreux,  the 
King  commanded  me  to  go  and  dress 
Monsieur  le  Comte  d'Eu  '^^  who  had  been 
wounded  by  a  pistol  shot  in  the  right 
thigh,  near  the  hip  joint,  which  had  shattered  and  broken 
the  femoral  bone  in  many  splinters,  to  which  many  ac- 
cidents supervened,  and  at  last,  death ;  which  was  to  my 
very  great  sorrow.  The  day  after  I  arrived,  I  wished  to 
go  to  the  camp  where  the  battle  had  taken  place,  to  see 
the  dead  bodies.  I  saw  for  a  great  league  about,  the 
whole  earth  covered,  where  they  estimated  of  them 
twenty-five  thousand  men  or  more;  all  which  were 
despatched  in  less  than  two  hours.  I  wish,  mon  petit 
maistre,  for  the  love  that  I  bear  you,  that  you  had  been 
there  to  tell  it  to  your  scholars  and  to  your  children. 
Now  while  I  was  at  Dreux  I  visited  and  dressed  a 

■'"During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1562,  Conde  with  a  large  army 
had  threatened  Paris,  while  the  King  and  Queen  Mother  were  at  Rouen. 
But  seeing  that  he  could  do  nothing  in  that  direction,  he  had  fallen  back 
in  order  to  make  a  junction  with  the  English  in  Normandy.  At  Dreux 
he  encountered  the  Catholic  forces  under  the  Constable  Montmorenci,  the 
Marshal  Saint  Andre,  and  the  Duke  Francois  de  Guise.  The  battle  took 
place  on  November  19,  1562,  and  was  most  sanguinary.  The  Catholics 
won  a  decisive  victory  although  Marshal  Saint  Andre  was  killed  and  the 
Constable  taken  prisoner  by  the  Huguenots. 

''Trangois  de  Cleves,  Due  de  Nevers,  Comte  d'Auxerre,  d'Rethel,  and 
d'Eu,  Seigneur  d'Orval,  Governor  of  Champagne,  born  in  1538,  was  acci- 
dentally wounded  on  the  morning  of  the  battle  of  Dreux  by  Monsieur 
des  Bordes,  one  of  his  gentlemen.  He  died  of  his  wound  on  January 
10,  1563. 

252 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


253 


great  number  of  gentlemen  and  poor  soldiers,  and 
among  the  others,  many  Swiss  captains.  I  dressed 
fourteen  of  them  in  a  single  room,  all  wounded  by  pistol 
shots  and  other  devilish  firearms,  and  not  one  of  the 
fourteen  died.  Monsieur  le  Comte  d'Eu  being  dead,  I 
did  not  make  a  long  stay  at  Dreux.  There  came  sur- 
geons from  Paris  who  did  their  duty  well  to  the 
wounded,  as  Pigray,'^  Cointeret,^^  Hubert,'^  and  others. 
I  returned  to  Paris,  where  I  found  many  wounded  gen- 
tlemen who  had  retired  there  after  the  battle  to  have 
their  wounds  dressed,  where  I  was  not  without  seeing 
many  of  them. 

"Pierre  Pigray,  bom  at  Paris  in  1531,  was  a  pupil  of  Pare.  He  was 
received  as  master  surgeon  In  1564.  He  was  surgeon  in  ordinary  to 
Charles  IX,  Henri  III,  and  Henri  IV.     He  died  October  16,  1613. 

"Jean  Cointeret  was  sworn  surgeon  to  the  King  at  the  Chatelet.  He 
died  May  13,  1592. 

^'Richard  Hubert  was  surgeon  to  Charles  IX.  He  died  September 
7.  1681. 


French  Cannon. 

(Sixteenth  Century.) 


The  Journey  to  Havre  de  Grace,  1563 


YJET  I  do  not  wish  to  omit  to  speak  of  the 
camp  at  Havre  de  Grace.  When  they 
made  the  approaches  to  place  the  artil- 
'  lery,  the  English,'^  who  were  within, 
killed  some  of  our  soldiers  and  many  pioneers  who  were 
placing  gabions;  whom,  when  they  were  seen  to  be  so 
badly  wounded  that  there  was  no  hope  of  recovery,  their 
companions  stripped,  and  put  them  still  living  with  the 
gabions,  which  served  them  for  so  much  filling.  The 
English  seeing  that  they  could  not  sustain  an  assault, 
because  they  were  much  attainted  with  disease,  and 
chiefly  with  the  plague,  rendered  themselves,  saving 
their  valuables.  The  King  let  them  have  vessels  to  return 
to  England,  very  glad  to  be  out  of  this  place  infected 
with  the  plague.  The  greater  part  of  them  died  of  it; 
and  they  carried  the  plague  into  England,  which  since 
then  has  never  been  free  from  it.  Captain  Sarlabous, 
master  of  the  camp,  was  left  in  garrison  with  six  en- 
signs of  infantry,  who  had  no  fear  of  the  plague,  and 
who  were  very  glad  of  entering  there,  hoping  to  make 
good  cheer. 

Mon  petit  maistre,  if  you  had  been  there,  you  would 
have  done  as  they  did. 

"As  stated  in  a  previous  footnote,  there  were  English  auxiliaries  with  the 
army  of  the  Huguenots. 

254 


The  Journey  to  Bayonne,  1564^^ 

OW  I  say  again,  moreover,  that  I  made 

the  journey  to  Bayonne,  with  the   King, 

where  we  were  two  years  and  more  tour- 

Jing    nearly    all    this    kingdom,    where    in 

many  towns  and  villages  I  was  called  in  consultation  in 

divers  sicknesses  with  the  late  Monsieur  Chapelain,^^ 

first  physician  to  the  King,  and  Monsieur  Castellan,'^ 

premier  physician  to  the  Queen  Mother,  men  of  honor  Curiosity 

and  very  learned  in  medicine  and  surgery.    Making  this  Diligence 

journey  I  always  asked  of  surgeons  if  they  had  re-  ^f  ^^^ 

Author 
marked  anythmg  rare  in  their  practice,  to  the  end  of 

learning  something  new. 

Being  at  Bayonne,  there  happened  two  things  of  re- 
mark for  young  surgeons.  The  first  is,  I  dressed  a 
Spanish  gentleman  who  had  a  great  and  enormous 
abscess  in  his  throift.     He  came  to  be  touched  by  the  late 

"In  Fare's  book  this  narrative  is  misplaced  chronologically,  and  I 
have  again  thought  it  proper,  as  did  Paget,  to  place  it  in  proper  sequence. 
In  1564  the  Queen  Mother  and  King  Charles  IX  began  a  long  progress, 
lasting  two  years,  throughout  the  kingdom  ending  at  Bayonne,  where 
they  met  Alva  and  where  it  is  said  the  plans  were  laid  for  the  Massacre  of 
Saint  Bartholomew.  Pare  accompanied  the  court  as  surgeon  to  the  King. 
"Jean  Chapelain  was  physician  in  ordinary  to  Francois  I,  and  premier 
physician  to  Henri  II,  and  Charles  IX.  He  died  in  1569,  at  the  siege  of 
Saint  Jean  D'Angely.  Pare,  in  1562,  dedicated  to  him  his  book  "La 
Methode  curative  des  playes  et  fractures  de  la  teste  humaine." 

''^Honore  du  Chastel,  called  Castellanus  or  Castellan,  was  physician- 
in-ordinary  to  Henri  II,  Francois  II,  and  Charles  IX,  and  premier  phy- 
sician to  Catherine  de  Medici.  He  died  on  November  4,  1569,  at  the 
siege  of  Saint  Jean  d'Angely,  of  the  same  disease  and  in  the  same  house 
as  his  colleague  Chapelain. 

255 


256  AMBROISE  PARE 

King  Charles  for  the  King's  evil.  I  opened  his  abscess, 
where  there  was  found  a  great  quantity  of  worms,  all 
creeping,  big  as  the  point  of  a  spindle  having  the  head 
History  black  and  there  was  a  great  quantity  of  rotten  flesh. 
Moreover,  he  had  under  his  tongue  a  swelling  called 
"ranula,"  which  hindered  him  in  speaking,  and  chewing 
or  swallowing  his  food.  He  prayed  me  with  clasped 
hands  to  open  it  for  him,  if  it  could  be  done  without  peril 
to  his  person;  which  I  did  promptly  and  found  under 
my  lancet  a  solid  body  which  was  five  stones,  like  those 
which  we  take  from  the  bladder.  The  greatest  was  the 
size  of  a  small  almond,  and  the  others  like  little  long 
beans  which  numbered  five.  In  the  swelling  was  con- 
tained a  glairy  humor,  of  a  yellow  color,  in  quantity 
more  than  could  be  held  in  four  silver  spoons.  I  left 
him  in  the  hands  of  a  surgeon  of  the  town  to  finish  his 
cure. 

Monsieur  de  Fontaine,  knight  of  the  order  of  the 
king,  had  a  great  continued  fever,  pestilent,  accom- 
panied with  many  inflammatory  swellings  [charbons]  in 
Another  diver s  parts  of  his  body,  who  was  two  days  without 
history  stopping  bleeding  from  the  nose,  nor  could  it  be 
staunched;  and  by  this  flux,  the  fever  ceased  with  a 
very  great  sweat  and  soon  after  the  swellings  sup- 
purated; and  he  was  dressed  by  me  and  cured  by  the 
grace  of  God. 


Types  of  French  Soldiers  in  the  Sixteenth  Century 


1.  Captain  of  nmsqneteers. 

2.  Garde  du  corps. 


3.  Musqueteer. 

4.  Swiss  of  the  Iloval  Guard. 


The  Battle  of  Saint  Denis,  IBer"" 


IND  as  for  the  battle  of  Saint  Denis,  there 
were  many  killed  as  well  on  one  side  as  on 
the  other.     Our  wounded  retired  to  Paris 

I  to  be  dressed,  together  with  the  prisoners 
taken,  of  whom  I  dressed  a  great  part. 

The  King  commanded  me  at  the  request  of  Madame 
la  Connestable  to  go  to  her  house  to  dress  Monsieur 
le  Connestable  who  had  a  pistol  shot  in  the  middle 
of  the  spine  of  his  back;  whereby  he  suddenly  lost  all 
sensation  and  movement  of  the  thighs  and  legs,  and  his 
excrements  were  retained,  not  being  able  to  pass  his 
urine,  nor  anything  by  the  rectum,  because  the  spinal 
cord,  from  which  proceed  the  nerves,  to  give  feeling 
and  movement  to  the  inferior  parts,  was  crushed, 
broken,  and  torn,  by  the  force  of  the  ball.  He  lost 
like^vise  understanding,  and  reason,  and  in  a  few  daj^s 
he  died.  The  surgeons  of  Paris  were  a  long  time 
troubled  to  dress  the  said  wounded.  I  believe,  mon 
petit  maistre,  you  visited  some  of  them.  I  pray  the 
great  God  of  victories  that  we  may  never  (again)  be 
employed  in  such  a  misfortune  and  disaster. 

"^'The  battle  of  Saint  Denis  was  fought  on  November  10,  1567.  The 
Huguenot  forces  were  led  by  the  Prince  de  Conde.  The  Constable  Anne 
de  Montmorenci  led  the  Royalists.  The  Huguenots  were  defeated  but  the 
old  Constable  died  as  Pare  tells  us.     Pare  was  with  the  Royalists  in  Paris. 

257 


The  Journey  of  the  Battle  of  MoTicontour,  1569 


80 


URING  the  battle  of  Moncontour,  King 
Charles  was  at  Plessis-les-Tours,  where 
he  heard  it  had  been  won.  A  great  num- 
ber of  gentlemen  and  soldiers  retired  into 
the  city  and  suburbs  of  Tours,  wounded,  to  get  them- 
selves dressed  and  treated;  where  the  King  and  Queen 
Mother  commanded  me  to  do  my  duty  to  them,  with 
the  other  surgeons  who  were  then  in  quarters,  as  Pigray, 
Du  Bois,*^  Portail,  and  one  named  Siret,  surgeon  of 
Tours,  a  well-informed  man  in  surgery,  being  the  sur- 
geon of  Monseigneur,  brother  of  the  King;  and  for  the 
multitude  of  wounded  we  had  scarcely  any  rest  nor  the 
physicians  likewise. 

Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Mansfeld,*^  Governor  of 
the  Duchy  of  Luxembourg,  chevalier  of  the  order  of  the 
king  of  Spain,  was  greatly  wounded  in  the  battle,  in  the 
left  arm,  by  a  pistol  shot  which  broke  a  great  part  of  his 
elbow;  and  he  had  retired  to  Bourgueil  near  Tours.  Be- 
ing there  he  sent  a  gentleman  to  the  King,  begging  him 
very  affectionately  that  he  would  send  one  of  his  sur- 

^''The  Battle  of  Moncontour  took  place  October  3,  1569.  The  Huguenots 
under  Admiral  Coligny  were  utterly  defeated  by  the  Due  d'Anjou  and 
Marshal  Tavannes. 

"Guillame  du  Bois,  surgeon  in  ordinary  to  Charles  IX. 

**Peter  Ernest  de  Mansfield  married  a  sister  of  Francois  de  Bassom- 
pierre,  the  father  of  Christophe  de  Bassompierre,  and  grandfather  of  the 
famous  Mardchal  de  Bassompierre. 

258 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  259 

geons  to  succor  him  of  his  wound.  Council  was  held 
what  surgeon  should  be  sent  there.  Monsieur  le  Mare- 
schal  de  Montmorenci  told  the  King  and  Queen  that 
it  would  be  best  to  send  his  premier  surgeon,  and  de- 
clared to  them  that  Monsieur  de  Mansfeld  had  been  a 
great  part  of  the  cause  of  the  gaining  of  the  battle. 

The  King  said  flatly  that  he  would  not  that  I  should 
go,  and  wished  that  I  should  remain  near  him.  Then 
the  Queen  Mother  said  to  him  that  I  would  but  go  and 
come,  and  that  he  must  consider  that  this  was  a  foreign 
lord  who  had  come  on  the  part  of  the  King  of  Spain  to 
his  succor.  Then  he  permitted  me  to  go  there  provided 
that  I  should  return  very  soon.  Then  he  sent  to  seek 
me,  and  likewise  the  Queen  Mother,  and  they  com- 
manded me  to  go  and  find  the  said  Seigneur  Comte  de 
Mansfeld,  wherever  he  should  be,  to  serve  him  in  all 
that  I  could  for  the  cure  of  his  wound.  I  went  and 
found  him,  having  with  me  a  letter  from  their  Majesties. 
Having  seen  it,  he  received  me  with  good-will,  and 
thenceforth  discharged  three  or  four  surgeons  who 
had  dressed  him ;  which  was  to  my  very  great  regret,  be- 
cause his  wound  seemed  to  me  to  be  incurable. 

Now  at  the  said  Bourgueil,  there  were  retired  many 
gentlemen,  who  had  been  wounded  in  the  said  battle 
knowing  that  Monsieur  de  Guise  was  there,  who  had 
also  been  much  wounded  by  a  pistol  shot  through  one 
leg,  and  being  well  assured  that  he  would  have  good 


26o 


AMBROISE  PARE 


Death  of 

Count 

Bingrave 


Monsieur 
de  Bassom- 
pierre 


surgeons  to  dress  him,  and  that  he  was  kindly  and  very 
liberal,  and  that  he  would  assist  them  in  a  great  part 
of  their  necessities.  Which  truly  he  did  willingly,  as 
much  for  the  eating  and  drinking  as  for  other  neces- 
saries; and  for  my  part  they  were  solaced  and  aided 
by  my  art;  some  died,  others  recovered,  according  to 
their  wounds.  Le  Comte  Ringrave,^^  who  had  a  shot  in 
the  shoulder  like  to  that  which  the  King  of  Navarre  had 
before  Rouen,  died.  Monsieur  de  Bassompierre,^* 
colonel  of  twelve  hundred  horse,  was  likewise  wounded 
by  a  like  shot  in  the  same  place  as  Monsieur  le  Comte 
de  Mansfeld;  whom  I  dressed  and  God  healed.  God 
blessed  my  work  so  well  that  in  three  weeks  I  sent  theni 
back  to  Paris,  where  it  was  necessary  to  yet  make  some 
incisions  in  the  arm  of  the  Comte  de  Mansfeld  to  ex- 
tract the  bone  which  was  greatly  splintered,  broken  and 
carious.  He  was  cured  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  he 
made  me  a  handsome  present;  of  such  sort  that  I  was 
well  contented  with  him  and  he  with  me,  as  he  has 
shown  me  since.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  Monsieur  le  Due 
d'Ascot,^^  how  he  was  cured  of  his  wound,  and  likewise 
Monsieur  de  Bassompierre  of  his,  and  many  others  that 
I  had  dressed  after  the  battle  of  Moncontour,  and  coun- 

"Jean  Philippe  II,  Comte  Ringrave  was  bom  in  1545.  In  1566  he 
married  Diane  de  Dommartin,  daughter  of  the  Comte  du  Fontenay,  and 
cousin-german  of  Christophe  Bassompierre. 

**Father  of  the  famous  Marechal  Frangois  de  Bassompierre.  He  was  a 
colonel  in  the  army  at  the  age  of  18. 

*^Phillipe   III,   Due   d'Arschot,    Prince   de   Chimay,   was   bom  July    10, 
1526,  and  died  December,  1595. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE 


261 


selled  him  to  beg  the  King  of  France  to  permit  me  to 
go  see  Monsieur  le  Marquis  d'Auret,^®  his  brother; 
which  he  did.^^ 

"Charles  Philippe  de  Croy  was  born  September  first,  1549,  he  married 
Dianne  de  Dommartin,  the  widow  of  the  Comte  de  Ringrave,  whose 
death  has  just  been  mentioned  by  Par^. 

*^In  the  memoirs  of  the  Marechal  de  Bassompierre  there  is  an  inter- 
esting account  of  the  wounding  of  these  three  colonels.  Christophe  de 
Bassompierre  had  previously  at  the  battle  of  Jarnac  been  wounded  in  his 
left  elbow  by  a  pistol  shot  which  had  crippled  him.  At  Monconlour  all 
three  relatives  were  wounded  at  the  same  place  in  the  same  arm  and  were 
all  dressed  in  the  same  room  by  the  same  surgeon,  Ambroise  Pare.  The 
Marshal  unfortunately  shows  a  tendency  to  detract  from  the  credit  due 
to  the  latter  by  attributing  the  recovery  of  the  two  Bassompierres  to  the 
use  of  a  water  given  to  them  by  Monsieur  de  Guise,  and  the  death  of 
Le  Comte  Ringrave  to  a  lack  of  it.  The  Marshal  says  Pare  told  his 
father  and  uncle  that,  the  elbow  joint  being  destroyed,  they  could  choose 
whether  they  would  have  the  arm  dressed  straight  or  bent.  The  Marshal's 
father,  Christophe,  had  his  dressed  in  the  extended  position  and  ultimately 
got  very  good  use  of  it.  His  uncle  had  his  dressed  in  the  curved  position 
and  it  was  afterwards  of  very  little  service  to  him. 


Wounded  Soldiers. 
(LacrofJkB  after  J.  Callot.) 


The  Journey  to  Flanders 

ONSIEUR  LE  DUG  D'ASCOT  did  not 

fail  to  send  a  gentleman  to  the  King  with 
a  letter  to  pray  him  humbly  that  he  would 
do  him  so  much  good  and  honor  as  to 
permit  and  command  his  premier  surgeon  to  come  to 
see  Monsieur  le  Marquis  d'Auret,  his  brother,  who  had 
received  an  arquebus  shot  near  the  knee,  with  fracture 
of  the  bone,  about  seven  months  ago,  and  that  the  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  of  those  parts  were  much  troubled 
to  cure.  The  King  sent  for  me,  and  commanded  me 
to  go  to  see  the  said  Seigneur  d'Auret,  and  to  help 
him  by  all  that  which  I  could  for  the  cure  of  his  wound. 
I  told  him  that  I  would  use  all  the  little  knowledge 
which  it  had  pleased  God  to  give  me. 

I  went  away,  accompanied  by  two  gentlemen,  to  the 
Chateau  d'Auret,^^  where  the  Marquis  was.  As  soon 
as  I  arrived,  I  visited  him  and  told  him  that  the  King 
had  commanded  me  to  come  to  see  him  and  dress  his 
wound.  He  said  to  me  that  he  was  very  glad  of  my 
coming,  and  was  greatly  beholden  to  the  King,  having 
done  him  so  much  honor  in  sending  me  to  him.  I  found 
him  with  great  fever,  his  eyes  very  much  sunken,  with 
a  moribund  and  yellowish  face,  his  tongue  dry  and 

*^The  chateau  was  about  a  league  and  a  half  from  Mons  in  Hainault. 

262 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  263 

parched,  and  all  his  body  very  emaciated  and  thin,  his 
voice  low  as  of  a  man  very  near  to  death ;  then  I  found 
his  thigh  much  swollen,  abscessed  and  ulcerated,  dis- 
charging a  greenish  and  fetid  sanies.  I  probed  it  with 
a  silver  probe.  By  it  I  found  a  cavity  near  the  groin, 
ending  in  the  middle  of  the  thigh,  and  others  around  the 
knee,  sanious  and  caniculate;  also  certain  splinters  of 
bone,  some  separated  and  others  not.  The  leg  was  very 
swollen,  and  imbued  with  a  pituitous  humor,  cold  and 
humid  and  flatulent  (in  such  sort  that  the  natural  heat 
was  by  way  of  being  suffocated  and  extinguished)  and 
bent  and  drawn  towards  the  buttocks;  the  buttocks  ul- 
cerated of  the  size  of  the  palm  of  the  hand ;  and  he  said 
he  felt  there  extreme  heat  and  pain,  and  likewise  in  his 
loins;  in  such  sort  that  he  could  not  rest  day  or  night, 
and  had  no  appetite  to  eat,  but  to  drink  enough.  It 
was  told  me  that  he  often  fell  with  weakness  of  the 
heart,  and  sometimes  as  in  epilepsy,  and  had  often  de- 
sired to  vomit,  with  a  trembling  such  that  he  could 
not  carry  his  hands  to  his  mouth.  Seeing  and  consider- 
ing all  these  great  complications,  and  the  forces  much 
abated,  truly  I  had  a  very  great  regret  to  have  gone  to 
him,  because  it  seemed  to  me  there  was  little  appearance 
that  he  could  escape  from  death.  Notwithstanding,  to 
give  him  courage  and  good  hope,  I  told  him  I  would 
soon  set  him  up  right,  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  help 
of  his  physicians  and  surgeons. 


264  AMBROISE  PARE 

Having  seen  him  I  went  away  to  walk  in  a  garden, 
and  there  I  prayed  God  that  he  would  do  me  this  grace 
that  he  should  recover,  and  that  he  would  bless  our 
hands  and  the  medicaments  to  fight  against  so  many 
complicated  maladies.  I  discussed  in  my  mind  the 
means  it  would  be  necessary  for  me  to  hold  to  do  this. 
They  called  me  to  dinner;  I  entered  by  the  kitchen, 
where  I  saw  taken  out  of  a  great  pot,  half  a  sheep,  a 
quarter  of  veal,  three  great  pieces  of  beef,  and  two 
fowls  and  a  very  great  piece  of  bacon,  with  abundance 
of  good  herbs ;  then  I  said  to  myself,  that  this  broth  of 
the  pot  was  succulent  and  of  good  nourishment.  After 
dinner,  all  the  physicians  and  surgeons  assembled;  we 
entered  into  consultation  in  the  presence  of  Monsieur 
le  Due  d'Ascot  and  some  gentlemen  who  accompanied 
him.  I  began  by  saying  to  the  surgeons  that  I  was 
greatly  astonished  that  they  had  not  made  openings 
in  the  thigh  of  Monsieur  le  Marquis,  which  was  all 
abscessed,  and  the  pus  which  went  forth  from  it  very 
fetid  and  stinking,  which  showed  it  had  been  stagnant 
there  a  long  time,  and  that  I  had  found  with  the  probe 
caries  of  the  bone,  and  splinters  of  bone  which  had  al- 
Response  ready  separated.  They  answered  me  that  he  never 
Surgeons  would  consent  to  it,  and,  indeed,  that  it  was  near  two 
months  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  get  leave  to  put 
clean  sheets  on  his  bed ;  and  they  scarcely  dared  to  touch 
the  coverlet,  so  great  was  his  pain.     Then  I  said  that 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  265 

to  cure  him  it  was  necessary  to  touch  other  things  than 
the  coverlet  of  the  bed.  Each  said  that  which  he  thought 
of  the  sickness  of  the  said  seigneur,  and  for  conclusion 
held  it  altogether  hopeless.  I  said  to  them  there  was  yet 
some  hope,  because  of  his  youth,  and  that  God  and 
Nature  sometimes  do  things  which  seem  to  physicians 
and  surgeons  to  be  impossible.    My  advice  was  that  the 

Advice  of 

cause  of  all  these  accidents  came  by  [reason  of]  the  the  Author 
bullet  hitting  near  the  joint  of  the  knee,  which  had 
broken  the  ligaments,  tendons,  and  aponeuroses  of  the 
muscles,  which  bound  the  said  joint  together  with  the 
femoral  bone;  as  well  as  the  nerves,  veins,  and  arteries, 
from  which  had  followed  pain,  inflammation,  abscess 
formation,  and  ulceration,  and  that  we  must  commence 
the  cure  by  that  of  the  disease,  that  was  the  cause  of  all 
the  aforesaid  accidents,  to  wit,  to  make  openings  to 
give  issue  to  the  sanious  matter  retained  in  the  spaces 
between  the  muscles,  and  in  their  substance;  likewise 
to  the  bone  (sequestra)  which  caused  a  great  corruption 
in  the  whole  thigh,  from  which  the  vapors  arose  and 
were  carried  to  the  heart,  which  caused  syncope  and 
fever,  and  from  the  fever  a  universal  heat  in  all  the 
body,  and  by  consequence  depravation  of  the  economy. 
Likewise  the  said  vapors  were  communicated  to  the 
brain,  which  caused  the  epilepsy  and  tremors,  and  nausea 
of  the  stomach,  and  prevented  it  from  performing  its 
functions,  which  are  chiefly  to  digest  and  concoct  the 


266  AMBROISE  PARE 

viands  and  convert  them  into  chyle  which  if  they  are  not 
well  concocted  it  ingenders  crudities  and  obstructions, 
which  makes  that  the  parts  are  not  nourished  and  in  con- 
sequence the  body  dries  and  becomes  emaciated,  and 
likewise  because  it  gets  no  exercise.  And  as  to  the 
edema  of  his  leg,  that  had  come  because  of  lack  of  ali- 
ment, and  of  the  arrest  of  the  natural  heat  through  all 
the  thigh,  and  also  because  it  had  no  power  of  move- 
ment, because  every  part  which  is  incapable  of  move- 
ment remains  languid  and  atrophied,  because  the  heat 
Why  a  part  ^^^^  [vital]  spirits  are  not  sent  nor  drawn  hither,  from 

becomes 

atrophied  which  ensues  mortification.  And  to  nourish  and  fatten 
the  body  it  is  necessary  to  make  universal  frictions  with 
warm  linen  cloths,  above,  below,  on  the  right  and  on 
the  left,  and  round  about,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing 
the  blood  and  [vital]  spirits  from  within  outwards; 
and  to  disperse  any  fuliginous  vapors  retained  between 
the  skin  and  the  flesh,  thus  the  parts  shall  thereafter  be 
nourished  and  restored  (as  I  have  said  before  in  Book 
nine,  treating  of  arquebus  wounds).  And  it  is  neces- 
sary to  stop  when  we  see  heat  and  redness  in  the  skin, 
for  fear  of  dispersing  that  which  has  been  drawn  out, 
and  by  consequence  make  it  more  emaciated.  Now  the 
bedsore  on  his  buttock  has  come  from  having  been  too 
long  a  time  lying  on  it,  without  moving  himself,  which 
has  been  the  cause  that  the  [vital]  spirits  have  not  been 
able  to  shine  in  it.    From  this  cause  there  has  been  in- 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  267 

flammation,  from  the  inflammation  abscess,  then  ulcera- 
tion, even  with  loss  of  substance  of  the  flesh  subjected, 
with  very  great  pain,  because  of  the  nerves  which  are 
disseminated  in  this  part.  It  is  necessary,  likewise,  that 
we  should  put  him  in  another  bed,  very  soft,  and  give 
him  a  clean  shirt  and  sheets,  otherwise  all  the  things 
which  one  could  do  for  him  would  be  of  no  service,  be- 
cause that  the  excrements  and  vapors  of  the  discharges 
retained  for  so  long  a  time  in  his  bed,  are  drawn  in  by 
the  systole  and  diastole  of  the  arteries,  which  are  dis- 
seminated by  the  skin,  and  cause  the  [vital]  spirits  to 
change  and  acquire  a  bad  diathesia  or  quality,  and  cor- 
ruption, which  is  seen  in  those  who  lie  in  a  bed  whereon 
a  smallpox  patient  has  lain  and  sweat,  who  get  the 
smallpox  by  the  putrid  vapors,  which  are  imbued  and  Why  he 
remain  in  the  sheets  and  coverlets.  Now  the  reason  sleep. 
that  he  cannot  sleep,  and  is  almost  in  a  consumption,  is 
because  he  eats  little  and  takes  no  exercise,  and  is 
vexed  with  great  pains ;  because  there  is  nothing  which 
lowers  and  prostrates  the  [body]  forces  more  than  pain. 
The  cause  of  his  parched  dry  tongue  comes  from  the 
vehemence  and  heat  of  the  fever,  by  the  vapors  which 
ascend  from  all  the  body  to  the  mouth,  for  as  is  said 
in  a  common  proverb,  "When  an  oven  is  well  heated, 
the  mouth  feels  it."  Having  discoursed  of  the  causes 
and  complications  I  said  that  it  was  necessary  to  cure 
them  by  their  contraries;  and  first  to  ease  the  pains. 


268  AMBROISE  PARE 

making  incisions  in  the  thigh  to  evacuate  the  retained 
pus,  not  letting  it  out  all  at  a  time,  for  fear  that  by  a 
sudden  great  evacuation  it  would  cause  a  resolution  of 
the  [vital]  spirits,  which  would  greatly  debilitate  the 
patient  and  shorten  his  days.  Secondly,  having  regard 
to  the  great  swelling  and  coldness  of  the  leg,  fearing  lest 
it  should  fall  into  a  gangrene,  and  that  it  would  be 
necessary  to  apply  actual  heat  [the  actual  cautery], 
because  the  potential  could  not  reduce  the  intempera-. 
ture  de  rotentia  ad  actum;  for  this  reason  we  should 
apply  about  it  hot  bricks,  on  which  should  be  sprinkled 
a  decoction  made  of  nerval  herbs  boiled  in  wine  and  vine- 
gar, then  wrapped  in  napkins,  and  to  his  feet  an  earth- 
enware bottle  filled  with  the  said  decoction,  corked  and 
Fomenta-  wrapped  in  linen.  Also  it  is  necesary  to  make  fomenta- 
tions on  the  thigh  and  the  whole  of  the  leg  of  a  decoc- 
tion made  of  sage,  rosemary,  thyme,  lavender,  flowers 
of  camomile,  and  melilot,  red  roses  boiled  in  white  wine, 
and  a  desiccant  made  of  oak  ashes,  and  a  little  vinegar, 
and  a  half  a  handful  of  salt.  This  decoction  has  the 
property  to  subtilize,  attenuate,  incise,  resolve,  wither 
and  dry  up  the  thick,  viscous  humor.  The  said  fo- 
mentations should  be  kept  up  a  long  time  to  the  end  that 
the  resolution  should  be  greater  because  being  thus 
made  for  a  long  time,  more  is  resolved  than  is  attracted, 
because  as  one  liquefies  the  humor  contained  in  the  part 
the  skin   and  the  flesh  of  the  muscles   are  rarefied. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  269 

Thirdly,  that  there  must  be  applied  on  the  buttock  a 
large  plaster  made  of  desiccative  red  ointment,^^  and 
unguentum  comitissae,^*^  equal  parts  mixed  together 
for  the  purpose  of  easing  his  pain  and  drying  the  ulcer; 
also  we  should  make  him  a  little  pillow  of  down  to  keep 
his  buttock  in  the  air,  without  his  being  supported  on  it. 
Fourthly,  to  refresh  the  heat  of  his  loins,  we  should  ap- 
ply over  them  the  refrigerant  ointment  of  Galen,®^ 
freshly  made,  and  over  it  fresh  leaves  of  the  water-lily, 
and  then  a  napkin  soaked  in  oxycrate,  frequently 
sprinkled  and  renewed.  And  to  support  the  heart,  we 
must  apply  over  it  a  refrigerant  medicament,  made  of 
oil  of  water-lilies,  ointment  of  roses,  and  a  little  saffron, 
dissolved  in  rose-vinegar  and  theriaca,^^  spread  on  a 
piece  of  scarlet  cloth.  For  the  syncope,  which  pro- 
ceeded from  the  exhaustion  of  the  natural  forces,  trou- 
bling also  the  brain,  it  was  necessary  to  use  good  succu- 

^'Unguentum  Desiccativum  Rubrum  contained  litharge,  bole  armemac, 
calamine,  and  camphor.    It  was  much  used  to  dry  up  sores. 

""Unguentum  Comitissae  was  an  ointment  composed  chiefly  of  various 
vegetable  astringents,  such  as  oak  and  chestnut  bark,  cheliodonia,  and 
myrtle. 

''Unguentum  Refrigerans,  sometimes  called  Ceratum  Refrigerans,  was 
practically  identical  with  our  "cold  cream."  Its  invention  was  attributed 
to  Galen. 

*^Theriaca,  or  treacle  as  it  was  known  in  English,  was  the  invention 
of  Andromachus,  physician  to  the  Emperor  Nero.  It  was  supposed  to  be 
the  universal  antidote,  besides  being  useful  in  the  greatest  variety  of 
diseases  and  pathological  conditions.  It  contained  an  immense  number  of 
ingredients,  including  vipers.  Its  manufacture  and  preparation  was  a 
matter  of  great  ceremony.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the  best  theriaca 
was  supposed  to  be  made  in  Venice.  In  1646  John  Evelyn  was  in 
Venice  and  he  writes,  "Having  pack'd  up  my  purchases  of  books,  pictures, 
casts,  treacle  (the  making  and  extraordinary  ceremonies  whereof  I  had 
been  curious  to  observe,  for  'tis  extremely  pompous  and  worth  seeing) 
I  departed  from  Venice." 


270  AMBROISE  PARE 

lent  food,  as  soft-boiled  eggs,  plums  stewed  in  wine  and 
sugar,  also  broth  of  the  juice  of  the  great  pot  (of  which 
I  have  spoken  before) ;  with  the  white  meat  of  capons, 
Soup  of  the  wings  of  partridges,  minced  small,  and  other  roasted 
great  pot  j^g^^^g^  g^sy  to  digest  as  veal,  kid,  pigeons,  partridges, 
thrushes,  and  the  like.  The  sauce  should  be  oranges, 
verjuice,  sorrel,  bitter  pomegranates ;  and  he  should  like- 
wise eat  them  boiled  with  good  herbs  as  sorrel,  lettuce, 
purslain,  chicory,  bugloss,  marigolds,  and  the  like.  At 
night  he  can  take  barley-water,  with  the  juice  of  sor- 
rel and  water-lilies,  of  each  two  ounces,  with  four  or 
five  grains  of  opium,^^  and  of  the  four  cold  seeds  bruised 
of  each  a  half  an  ounce,  which  is  a  nourishing  and  medic- 
inal remedy,  and  will  make  him  sleep.  His  bread  should 
be  that  of  the  farm,  neither  too  stale  nor  too  fresh.  And 
for  the  great  pain  in  his  head,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
cut  his  hair,  and  to  rub  it  with  oxyrrhodinum,  a  little 
warm,  and  to  leave  on  it  a  double  cloth  soaked  in  it ;  also 
on  his  forehead  one  with  oil  of  roses  and  water-lilies  and 
poppies,  with  a  httle  opium  and  rose-vinegar,  with  a  lit- 
tle camphor,  renewed  at  times.  Moreover,  he  should 
smell  flowers  of  henbane  and  water-lilies,  bruised  with 
vinegar  and  rose-water,  with  a  little  camphor  wrapped 
together  in  a  handkerchief,  which  should  be  held  for  a 

»*This  dose  seems  somewhat  large.  As  Paget  points  out,  in  Pard's 
time  the  grain  was  literally  "a  barleycorn  or  grain,  and  that  such  as  is 
neither  too  dry,  nor  over-grown  with  mould,  nor  rancid,  but  well-condi- 
tioned, and  of  an  indiflFerent  bigness." 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  271 

long  time  against  the  nose,  so  that  the  odor  can  com- 
municate itself  to  the  brain;  and  these  things  should  be 
continued  only  until  the  great  inflammation  and  pain 
shall  be  passed,  for  fear  of  refrigerating  too  much  the 
brain.  Furthermore,  one  should  make  artificial  rain,  by 
making  water  run  from  some  high  place  into  a  cauldron, 
that  it  may  make  such  a  noise  that  the  patient  can 
hear  it;  by  these  means  sleep  will  be  provoked  in  him. 
And  as  to  the  retraction  of  his  leg  there  was  hope  of 
correcting  it,  when  one  should  have  made  evacuation 
of  the  pus  and  other  humors  contained  in  the  thigh, 
which  by  their  extension  (made  by  repletion)  have 
drawn  back  the  leg,  which  would  remedy  itself  by  first 
rubbing  all  the  knee  joint  with  ointment  of  althea,®* 
and  oil  of  lilies,  and  a  little  brandy,  and  putting  above 
it  black  wool  with  the  grease  in  it,  likewise  by  putting 
under  the  knee  a  feather  pillow,  folded  double,  and  lit- 
tle by  little  we  shall  extend  his  leg. 

This  my  discourse  was  well  approved  by  the  physi- 
cians and  surgeons. 

The  consultation  ended  we  went  to  the  patient,  and 
I  made  three  openings  in  his  thigh,  from  which  went 
forth  a  great  quantity  of  pus  and  sanies,  and  at  the 
same  time  I  took  from  him  some  little  splinters  of  bone, 
but  did  not  wish  to  let  go  forth  too  great  a  quantity  of 
the  said  sanies  for  fear  of  too  much  exhaustion  of  his 

•'Ointment  of  mallows. 


272  AMBROISE  PARE 

[vital]  forces.  Two  or  three  hours  afterwards  I  had  a 
bed  made  for  him  near  his  own,  on  which  were  clean 
white  sheets ;  then  a  strong  man  placed  him  in  it  and  he 
was  glad  to  be  taken  out  of  his  dirty  stinking  bed.  Soon 
after  he  asked  to  sleep,  which  he  did  for  near  four  hours ; 
whereat  everybody  in  the  house  commenced  to  rejoice, 
and  especially  INIonsieur  le  Due  d' Ascot,  his  brother. 

The  following  days  I  made  injections  into  the  depth 
and  cavities  of  the  ulcers,  composed  of  aegyptiacum  dis- 
solved sometimes  in  brandy,  other  times  in  wine.  I 
applied  compresses  to  the  bottom  of  the  sinuses,  to 
cleanse  and  dry  the  spongy  soft  flesh,  and  tents  of  lead 
cannulas,  for  the  purpose  of  always  giving  issue  to  the 
sanies;  and  over  them  a  large  plaster  of  diacalcitheos,®^ 
dissolved  in  wine.  Likewise  I  bandaged  him  so  dex- 
terously that  he  had  no  pain,  which  ceasing  the  fever  be- 
gan to  diminish  very  much.  Then  I  made  him  drink 
wine  moderately  tempered  with  water,  knowing  that  it 
restores  and  quickens  the  [vital]  forces.  And  all  the 
things  that  we  had  ordered  in  the  consultation  were 
accomplished  according  to  their  time  and  order;  and 
his  pains  and  the  fever  ceased,  he  began  always  to  grow 
better.  He  discharged  two  of  his  surgeons  and  one  of 
his  physicians  so  that  we  were  but  three  with  him. 

Now  I  remained  there  about  two  months,  and  was 

*Emplastrum  diacalcitheos  was  made  with  oil,  litharge  and  vitriol.     It 
was  astringent  and  detergent. 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  273 

not  without  seeing  many  patients,  some  rich,  some  poor, 
who  came  to  see  me  from  three  or  four  leagues  about. 
He  gave  food  and  drink  to  the  needy,  all  of  whom  he 
commended  to  me  that  I  should  aid  them  as  a  favor 
to  him.  I  protest  I  refused  not  one,  and  did  for  them 
all  that  it  was  possible,  of  which  he  was  glad.  Then 
when  I  saw  that  he  commenced  to  be  well,  I  told  him  he 
must  have  viols  and  violins  and  some  comedian  to  make 
him  merry,  which  he  did.  In  one  month  we  had  so 
wrought  that  he  could  sit  up  in  a  chair,  and  had  him- 
self carried  to  and  fro  in  his  garden,  and  to  the  gate 
of  his  chateau  to  see  the  people  pass.  The  peasants 
for  two  or  three  leagues  about,  knowing  that  they  could 
see  him,  came  on  fete  days  to  sing  and  dance,  men  and 
women,  pell-mell  for  a  frolic,  rejoicing  at  his  good  con- 
valescence, being  all  glad  to  see  him,  and  not  without 
much  laughing  and  much  drinking.  He  always  caused 
a  hogshead  of  beer  to  be  given  to  them,  and  they  drank 
all  merrily  to  his  health.  And  the  citizens  of  Mons 
in  Hainault,  and  other  gentlemen,  his  neighbors,  came 
to  see  him  in  wonder,  as  a  man  coming  forth  from  the 
grave ;  and  from  then  that  he  was  so  well,  he  was  never 
without  company,  and  as  one  went  forth,  another  would 
enter  to  visit  him;  his  table  was  always  well  covered. 
He  was  greatly  loved  by  the  nobiUty  and  by  the  com- 
mon people,  as  well  for  his  liberality,  as  for  his  beauty 
and  honesty,  having  a  kind  look  and  a  gracious  speech. 


274  AMBROISE  PARE 

in  such  sort  that  those  who  saw  him  were,  constrained  to 
love  him. 

The  chief  persons  of  the  city  of  Mons  came  one  Sat- 
urday to  ask  him  to  permit  me  to  go  to  Mons  where  they 
had  the  good  will  to  feast  me  and  make  me  good  cheer 
for  their  love  of  him.  He  told  them  he  would  pray  me 
to  go,  which  he  did,  but  I  answered  him  that  such  great 
honor  was  not  due  to  me,  adding  also  that  they  could 
not  give  me  better  cheer  than  his.  And  again  he  prayed 
me  very  affectionately  to  go  there,  and  that  I  would 
do  it  for  his  sake,  to  which  I  agreed.  The  next  day 
they  came  to  fetch  me  with  two  coaches;  and  having 
arrived  at  Mons  we  found  the  dinner  ready,  and  the 
chief  men  of  the  city  with  their  wives,  who  awaited  me 
with  good  will.  We  put  ourselves  at  table,  and  they 
placed  me  at  the  upper  end  and  all  drank  to  me  and 
to  the  health  of  the  Marquis  d'Auret,  saying  that  he 
was  very  fortunate,  and  they  likewise,  to  have  found  me 
to  put  him  on  his  legs,  and  to  let  it  be  known  in  this 
company  how  greatly  he  was  honored  and  loved.  After 
dinner  they  brought  me  back  to  the  Chateau  d'Auret, 
where  Monsieur  le  Marquis  awaited  me  with  great  af- 
fection to  tell  him  that  which  we  had  done  at  our  ban- 
quet, where  I  told  him  that  all  the  company  had  drunk 
many  times  to  his  health. 

In  six  weeks  he  began  to  support  himself  a  little  on 
crutches,  and  to  grow  fat,  and  get  a  live  and  natural 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  275 

color.  He  wished  to  be  taken  to  Beaumont,  which  is 
the  dwelling  of  Monsieur  le  Due  d'Ascot,  and  had  him- 
self carried  there  in  a  chair  with  arms,  by  eight  men  in 
relays,  and  the  peasants  of  the  villages  through  which 
we  passed,  knowing  he  was  Monsieur  le  Marquis,  fought 
with  one  another  to  carry  him,  and  constrained  us  to 
drink,  but  it  was  only  beer,  but  I  believe  if  they  had 
wine,  even  hypocras,  they  would  have  given  it  to  us 
with  a  good  will.  And  all  were  glad  to  see  the  Marquis, 
and  all  prayed  God  for  him.  Having  arrived  at  Beau- 
mont all  the  people  came  to  meet  us,  to  do  him  reverence, 
and  they  prayed  God  he  would  bless  him  and  keep  him 
in  good  health.  We  entered  the  chateau  where  there 
were  more  than  fifty  gentlemen  that  Monsieur  le  Due 
d'Ascot  had  asked  to  come  make  good  cheer  with  Mon- 
sieur his  brother;  and  for  three  whole  days  he  kept 
open  house.  After  dinner  the  gentlemen  would  run  at 
the  ring,  and  fight  one  another  with  sword  arms  [fence] 
and  they  rejoiced  greatly  to  see  Monsieur  d'Auret,  be-  „  .^ 
cause  they  had  heard  that  he  would  never  leave  his  bed  tried  to  get 
and  be  cured  of  his  wound.  I  was  always  at  the  upper  drunk  by 
end  of  the  table,  where  everybody  drank  carouses  to  him  ^nahmg 

good  cheer 

and  to  me,  thinking  to  make  me  drunk,  which  they  could 

not  do,  for  I  drank  only  as  I  was  accustomed  to  do.  ^^f^^  ^f 

Madame 

Some  days  after  we  returned  from  there  and  I  took  leave  la  Duchesse 
of  Madame  la  Duchesse  d'Ascot,  who  took  a  diamond        ^^^ 
from  her  finger,  which  she  gave  me  in  recognition  of 


276  AMBROISE  PARE 

my  having  so  well  cared  for  her  brother,  and  the  dia- 
mond was  worth  more  than  fifty  crowns.  Monsieur 
d'Auret  was  getting  better  and  better,  and  walked  alone 
about  his  garden  on  crutches.  I  asked  leave  of  him 
divers  times  to  return  to  Paris,  showing  him  that  which 
remained  to  do  for  his  wound  could  be  done  by  his 
physician  and  surgeon.  And  to  begin  to  get  myself 
away  from  him,  I  begged  him  to  permit  me  to  go  to  see 
Good  wUl  the  city  of  Antwerp,  which  he  granted  me  willingly,  and 
citizens        ordered  his  maitre  d'hotel  to  conduct  me  there,  accom- 

Or   ^jTUS^PL^  •      1 

'  pamed  by  two  pages.    We  passed  through  Malines  and 

Brussels,  where  the  chief  men  of  the  city  prayed  the 
maitre  d'hotel  to  let  them  know  when  we  should  return, 
and  that  they  wished  to  feast  me,  as  had  those  of  Mons. 
I  thanked  them  very  humbly,  saying  to  them  that  such 
honor  was  not  due  to  me.  I  was  two  days  and  a  half 
visiting  the  city  of  Antwerp,  where  some  merchants, 
knowing  the  maitre  d'hotel,  prayed  him  he  would  let 
them  have  the  honor  of  giving  us  a  dinner  or  a  supper. 
It  was  who  should  have  us,  and  they  were  all  very  glad 
to  hear  of  the  good  health  of  Monsieur  d'Auret,  making 
me  more  honor  than  I  asked.  At  last  we  came  back  to 
find  Monsieur  le  Marquis  making  good  cheer,  and  five 
or  six  days  after  I  demanded  leave  to  go  from  him, 
which  he  granted  me,  with  great  regret  (so  he  said) 
and  gave  me  a  worthy  present  of  great  value,  and  had 


APOLOGY  AND  TREATISE  277 

me  again  conducted  by  the  maitre  d'hotel  with  two 
pages  to  my  house  in  Paris. 

I  have  neglected  to  say  that  the  Spaniards  have 
since  ruined  and  demolished  his  Chateau  d'Auret,  and 
sacked,  pillaged,  and  burned  all  the  houses  and  villages 
belonging  to  him,  because  he  would  not  be  of  their 
wicked  party  in  their  assassinations  and  ruin  of  the 
Low  Countries.^^ 

I  have  published  this  Apology,  to  the  end  that  every- 
one should  know  on  what  footing  I  have  always 
marched,  and  I  think  there  is  no  man  so  touchy  that  he 
cannot  take  in  good  part  that  which  I  have  said,  since 
my  discourse  is  true,  and  that  the  effect  is  to  show  the 
thing  to  the  eye,  the  reason  being  my  guaranty  against 
all  calumnies. 

^*In  the  edition  of  his  works  published  in  his  lifetime  Pare  places  after 
this  the  accounts  of  the  Journey  to  Bourges,  the  Battle  of  Saint  Denis, 
and  the  Journey  to  Bayonne.  I  have  thought  it  better  to  give  them  in 
their  chronological  sequence. 

End  of  the  Apology  ^  Journeys 


INDEX 


Abb6ville,  238. 

Abbey  of  Saint  Arnold,  210. 

Abscess    formation,    265. 

in  the  Internal  organs,  81. 

in  the  throat,  255. 
Adenoid    complication    in    death   of 

Francois  II,  110. 
.iEgyptiacum    for   dressing   wounds, 

242,  272 
^gineta,     Paulus,     146,     147,     148, 

149. 
Aetius,  146,  148,  152. 
d'Albon,  Jacques,   183. 
d'Albret,  Charlotte,  168. 
d'Albret,  Isabelle,  168. 
d'Albret,  Jeanne,  190,  245,  248. 
Albucasis,  146,  147,  148. 
Alciat,  155. 
d'Alechamp,  134. 

Alexipharmical     property     of     uni- 
corn's horn,  119. 
Almonds,  215. 
Alopecia,  pun  on,  96. 
Alsace  and  Lorraine,  182. 
Althea,  ashes  of,  271. 
Alva,    General,    81,    182,    202,    203, 

255. 
d'Amboise,   Bussy,  incident  regard- 
ing, 105. 
Amboise,  Peace  of,  70. 
Ambrosia,  pun  on,  105. 
America,  history  of,  210. 
Amiens,  journey  to,  244. 
Amputation  by  use  of  the  ligature, 
46,  47. 

examples    of,    139,    140,    141,    189. 

of  arms  and  legs,  242. 

of  Coligny's  arm,  83. 

of  epiploon,  134. 

of  leg  of  Toussaint  Posson,  141. 

performed  upon  Jean  Bousserau, 
143. 
Amusements  of  peasants,  273. 


"Anatomie  UniverseUe,"  publication 

of,  65. 
Anatomy,  knowledge  of,  by  barber- 
surgeons,  18. 
of  Vesalius,   112. 
Pare  studies,  30,  43. 
publication  of  work  on,  43. 
reference  concerning,  aponeuroses 
of  muscles,  130,  131,  265. 
arterial  vein,  224. 
azygos  vein,  228. 
basilic  vein,  222. 
brain,    sixth    conjugation    from, 

223. 
chyle,  266. 

diaphragm,  blood  on,  223. 
diastole  of  arteries,  267. 
fundament,   150. 
infibulare,   149. 
lungs,   action   of,    223. 
milk,   origin   of,   228. 
OS  astragalus,  139. 
spinal   cord,    functions   of,   257. 
systole  of  arteries,  267. 
stomach,  148,  150. 
thorax,  222,  cavity  of,  222. 
varicose   vein,   231. 
ventricle  of  the  brain,   175. 
Anchovy,  204. 
Andelot,  240. 

Andreas,  John,  h  Cruce,  134. 
Andromachus,  269. 
Anesthesia     accompanying     leprosy, 

14. 
Angers,  beggar  at,  12. 
Angiology,  147. 
d'Angoulfeme,  Diane,  197. 
Animals,  treatise  on,  113. 
d'Anjou,  Due,  258. 
d'Annebaut,  Marechal,  30,  167,  174. 
Antidote,   73. 

bezoar  stone  as,  109. 
oil  as,  65. 


279 


28o 


INDEX 


Antidote,  unicorn's  horn  as,  115. 

universal.  111. 
Antimony,    suppression    of    passage 

on,  113. 
use  of,  91,  109. 
Antwerp,  76,  237,  276. 
d'AnviUe,  197. 
"Apologie   et   Traite    Contenant   les 

Voyages      Faits      en      Divers 

Lieux,"  4. 
Apology,   129. 
Aponeuroses    of    the    muscles,    130, 

131. 
trauma  in,  265. 
Apothecaries,  197,  198. 
Apprenticeship       under   barber-sur- 
geon, 19. 
Arcabuto,  156. 
de   Argellata,  Pierre,  134. 
Archagelus,  156. 
Aristotle,  155. 
Armaments,  kinds  of,  200. 

See  also  Weapons. 
Armeniac,   269. 

d'Armenonville,   Seigneur,  197. 
Army  formation,  182. 
Aromatic  compound,  use  of,  79. 
Arquebus  a  croc,  206. 
Arquebus  wounds,  treatment  of,  28, 

29,  41,  245,  262. 
Arquebusiers,  205. 
d'Arschot,  Due,  75,  260. 

Duchesse,  present   of,   76,  275. 
Arterial  vein,  224. 
Arteriotomy,  146. 

Artificial  rain  to  induce  sleep,  270. 
Artillery     attacks,     199,     201,     217, 

237. 

d'Ascot,    Due,    260,    262,    264,    272, 

275. 
Asses,  as  food,  205. 
Asthmatics,  147. 
Astrological    influence,   evidence   of, 

113. 
Atrophy,  presence  of,  266. 
d'Aubigne,  9. 
de    Aumalle,    183. 
Aurelianus,  Celius,  148. 
d'Auret,  Marquis,  75,  261,  274. 

treatment  for,  75. 
Autopsy  on  Charles  IX,  104. 
a   criminal,    65. 


Autopsy  on  King  of  Navarre,  69. 

Monsieur  de   Martigues,   228. 

the    wrestler,    173. 
Avesnes,   168. 
Avicenna,  132,  152. 
Avignon,   106. 
Azygos  vein,  228. 

Bacon,  204. 

le   Balafre,   180. 

Balm    for   dressing   wounds,   29. 

Balzac,  61. 

Bandaging,   method    of,   232. 

Baptism  in  Catholic  faith,  84. 

Bar-le-Duc,    6Q. 

Barbarity,  example  of,  254. 

Barber-surgeon,     examination     for, 

25,  30. 
Barber-surgeons,  community  of,   15, 
30. 

duties  and  opportunities  of,  16. 

as  prosectors,  18,  19. 
Barley  broth  as  food,  224. 
Barley  water,  215,  270. 
Barricade  of  casks,  191. 
Barricades,  205. 

du  Bartas,  quotation  from,  145. 
Bartholinus,  Thomas,  119. 
Basilic  vein,  222. 

de    Bassompierre,    Christophe,    258, 
261. 

Francois,  sister  of,  258. 
wound  of,  75,  260. 

Marshal,    258. 
memoirs  of,  261. 
Bastile,   de  Vendome's   commitment 

to,  198. 
Batifol,  246. 
Battalia,  208. 
de  Bauge,     Monsieur,     incident     of, 

197,  235,  236,  237. 
Bavaria,  play  on  the  word  haver,  96. 
Bayonne,  journey  to,  255. 
Beans,   204. 
Beaumont,   274. 
de  Beauyau,    Isabdle,    193. 
Bee  de  corbin,  134. 
Beef    and    bacon,    horse    meat    for, 

201. 
Bedsore,  cause  of,  266. 
Beef,  204. 

Beggar,  incident  of,  12. 
Beggars,  stories  regarding,   109. 


INDEX 


281 


Belief,  Fare's  religious,  84 

du  Bellai,  Cardinal,  17. 

Bellows,   150. 

Belly,  openings  in,  148,  150. 

Benevolence,  evidences  of  Fare's,  7. 

Benzo,  the  Milanese,  210. 

Beverages,  brandy,  70,  271,  272. 

wine,  231. 
Bezoar  stone,  incident  of,  63,  109. 
Biarritz,  73,  193. 
Bibliotheque  Nationale,  89. 
Bibliotheque   Sainte   Genevieve,   66. 
deBiron,  197. 
Birth,  date  of,  10. 
Birthplace,  10. 
Biscuit,  204. 
Bladder,  stones  similar  to  those  in, 

256. 
Blanc-mange,  215. 
Blasphemy,  defense  against,  109. 
Bleeding,   19,   222,   231. 

excessive,  in  fever,  256. 
Blois,   180. 
Blood-letting,  222. 
Bodkin,  use  of,  223. 
Boettes,  205. 
Bohemians,  208. 
du  Bois,  Guillaume,  258. 
le  Bois-Dauphin,   corpse  of,  242. 
Boistau,  109. 
de  Boisy,  Sieur,  183. 
Bone   splinters,  221,   271. 
Bones  as  food,  124. 
Bonesetters,  16. 
Bonfires  to  purify  the  air,  78. 
Bonnivet,   197. 
laBordaille,  198. 
des  Bordes,  252. 
BorgueU,  the  wounded  at,  75. 
du  Bouchet,  Monsieur,  230. 
de  Bouillon,  213,  216. 

taking  of  Monsieur,  219. 
Boullaie,  Marie,  97. 

Robert,   97. 
Boulogne,  180. 

journey  to,  179. 

siege  of,  42. 
de  Bourbon,  Antoine,  47,  190,  248. 

Cardinal,  249. 

Charles,  22,  159,  193, 

Jean  II,  193. 

Louis,  193. 
de  Bourdeville,  Seigneur,  241. 


de  Bourdillon,  246. 
Bourg  Hersent,  10. 
Bourgeois,   Louise,   100,    101. 

claim  of,  93. 
Bourges,   journey   to,   246. 

siege  of,  69. 
Bourgueil,  259. 
Bousserau,  Jean,  143. 
Bouterone,  Francois,  97. 
Brain,  sixth  conjugation  from,  223. 

wound  in  the  left  ventricle  of,  175. 
Brantome,  9,  88,  159. 
Brandenbourg,  Marquis  of,  208. 
Brandy,  271. 

as  a  dressing  for  wounds,  70. 

as  a  solvent,  272. 
Bread   for  invalid   diet,  270. 
Breast,  cautery  on,  148. 

swollen,   operation   for,   148. 
de   Bressure,   Mademoiselle,  237. 
Brest,  169. 
Brignolles,  159. 
de  Br  ion,  Catherine,  39. 

HUaire,   97. 
de  Brissac,  Monsieur,  40,  174. 
de   Brosse,   Charlotte,   197. 

Jean,    168. 
Broth,  215. 

use  of,  270. 
Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  119. 
Brussels,  76,  276. 
de  Bruyeres,  Seigneur,  102. 
Burgundy,    Duchy    of,   22. 
Burial   of  the   dead,  210. 
Burial     of    Pare    id     the    Catholic 

faith,  84. 
Bums,  old  woman's  treatment  for, 

29. 
Butter,  204. 

Calamine,  269. 

Callosity,  absorption  of,   132. 

of    ulcer    border,    231. 
Cahnetheus,    133. 
Cambrai,   Feace  of,   23,   158. 
Camomile,  268. 

Camp   followers,  firing  upon,  213. 
Camphor,  269,  270. 
Camus,   Jean,   101. 
Camusat,  77. 
Cancer     of     the     breast,     impostor 

feigns,  13. 
Cardan,  109. 


282 


INDEX 


Caries,    139,    264. 
Carouge,    197 
Carrots,    204. 

Casks   as   moat  fillers,   191 
Castellan,  255. 
Cataplasm,   152. 
Cataract,  operations   for,  113. 
Caterpillars    and   grasshoppers,   sol- 
diers compared  to,  203. 
"Catherine  de  Medici"  of  Balzac,  61. 
Catholic   victory   at    Dreux,   252. 

wars,    246. 
Catholicism,   80,   109 
Cats   as    food,   205. 

on  spikes,   taunted  by,  200. 
CauterizaUon,    130,   137,   268. 

condemned,  189. 

for   empyema,    147. 

for  hemorrhage,  46. 

for  gunshot  wounds,  162. 

of  liver  and  spleen,  148. 

ridictde  of,  214. 

vs  ligature,  156. 
Cavalry    charge    at    Metz,    201. 
Celsus,  Cornelius,  133,  138,  147,  149, 

152,    154. 
Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Innocents,  209. 
Ceratum  refrigerans,  269. 
Chalons,  182. 
Chapelain,  116. 

Jean,  255. 
de  la  Chapelle,   aux   Ursins,   197. 

Gautier,   Seigneur,  197. 
Charbonnel,   99 

Jean,   139,   142. 
Charbons,  256. 
Charity,  example   of,  28. 

of  the   author,  act  of,  7,  45,  184. 
Charles    V,    Emperor,    22,    23,    119, 
158,  178,  182,  190,  213. 

attack   of,   24. 
on   Metz,   48. 
on  Saint  Quentin,  240. 

decision  of,  207. 

surgeons   of,  220. 
Charles  IX,  2,  4,  33,  69,  70,  73,  81, 
82,  88,  110,  116,  140,  143,  175, 
245,   249,   252,    255,   258,   261, 
262. 

accession  of,  61,  62. 

death   of,    104. 

obstinacy  of,  74. 

petition  to,  76. 


Charles,   M.   Pierre,  wife  of,   102. 

Charonne,  100. 

Chartel,   Captain,   183. 

de  Chartres,   Vidame,   197. 

du  Chastel,  Honore,  255. 

de  ChastiUon,  179,  182. 

Chateau    d'Auret,    75,   262. 

demolition  of,  277. 
Chateau  le  Comte,  190. 

fall  of  the,  192. 
Chateau   Gaillard,  251. 
Chateau   de  la   Motte  au  Bois,  235, 

236,  237. 
Chateau  de  Villaine,  161. 
de  Chauliac,  Gui,  112,  133. 

textbook  of,  19. 
Cheeses,  204. 
Cheliodonia,  269. 
Chestnut  bark,  269. 
Chirurgien  at  the  Hotel  Dieu,  20. 
Choleric  temperament,  231. 
Chyle,    266. 

Circulation   of  blood   and   "spirits," 
massage    for    stimulation    of, 
266. 
Cicatrization,     complete,     of     ulcer, 

234. 
Cleanliness,  as  mark  of  refinement, 
235. 

value  of,   in  treating   gangrenous 
condition,  267. 
Clement  VII,  Pope,   111,  115,   158. 
Clement,  Jacques,  122. 
Cleret,  Etienne,  39. 

Marguerite,  39. 
de  Cleves,  Duke,  marriage  of,  159. 
Clinical  examination  of  the  wounds 
of    Monsieur    de    Martigues, 
221. 
Clyster,  150. 

Cointeret,  Jean,  144,  253. 
Cold  cream,  269. 

Coligny,    Gaspard,    Admiral,    2,    3, 
70,  82,   159,  182,  246,  258. 

capture  of,  240. 

death  of,  85. 

murder  of,  84. 

quotation    from    life    of,    62,    87, 
180. 

shooting   of,   82. 
College  de  Saint  Come,  104,  106. 

membership   in  the,  53. 

testimony  of  the,  107. 


INDEX 


283 


Coiot,    Lawrence,    performs    lithot- 
omy, 12. 
Colots,  operations  of  the,  96. 
Come,  Frere,  lithotomist,  16. 
Community  of  Barber-surgeons,  15, 

30. 
Comperat,    accusation    of,    11,    130, 

122. 
Compag^non       chirurgien       at       the 

Hotel  Dieu,  20. 
Compress,  application  of,  270. 

on  varicose  vein,  232. 
de  Conde,  Prince,  48,  62,  70,  82,  193, 

246,  248,  252,  257. 
trial  of,  62. 
Confrerie  de  Saint  Come,  15. 
controversy    over    the     rank    of, 

54. 
Conserve  of  roses.  111. 
Consumption,  267. 
Contracture   of  arm,   treatment  of, 

73. 
Convulsion,   136. 
Corrosive     sublimate,     given     to     a 

criminal,  108. 
poisoning  by,  65. 
de  Coss6,  Charles,  Comte  de  Brissae, 

174. 
Cough,  purpose  of,  224. 
Couquet,  169. 
Courtin,  142. 

Coverlets  on  camp  beds,  211. 
Cows,    salted,    204. 

tainted,  as  food,  215. 
de  Croy,  Charles  Philippe,  261. 
Crozon,  169. 

Cruciform   incision,    148. 
Cruelty,   example    of,   219, 

of  Spaniards,  210. 
Cuboide,   139. 
de  Culan,  capture  of,  219. 
Ctesias,   description   of   unicorn  by, 

119. 
Culverin,  186. 

Daigne,  194. 
Danvilliers,  182,  188. 

journey  to,  186. 

siege  of,  46. 
Dardelot,  fort  of,  179. 
Dativo,  wrestler,   171. 
Dauphigne,  governor  of,  193. 
de  Dauphin,  183. 


Dauphin,   Monsieur  le,   surgeon  of, 

175. 
Death,  verse  on,  81. 

of  Pare,  L'Estoile's  recora  of,  10. 
Demons,  presence  of,  94. 
Denbray,   Claude,   wife  of,   103. 
Devils  in  the  air,  94. 
Diacalcitheos,  plaster  of,  272. 
Diachylon,  plaster  of,  222. 
Diane  de  France,  child  of  Henri  II, 

44. 
Diastole   of  arteries,   absorption  of 

vapors  by,  267. 
Diathesia,  267. 
Diaphragm,  blood  on,  223. 
Diet,  270. 

barley  water,  215,  224,  2'iO, 

bread,  270. 

br(^h,  215,  270. 

jelBes  and  dainties,  50,  215. 

meats,  270. 

nuts.  111. 

sauces,  270. 

soup,  224. 

wine,  272. 

see  also  Food. 
Dieting  by  proxy,  226. 
Dioscorides,  149. 
Disguise  of  Pare,  218,  244. 
Disease,     abscess     of     the     throat, 
255. 

dropsy,  148. 

dysentery,  174. 

empyema,  228. 

epilepsy,  263,  265. 

fever,   136,  263,  265,  272. 

hasmaturia,  174. 

paralysis  from  pistol  wound,  257. 

pleurisy,  228. 

quartan  fever,  245. 
Disinfection  of  filthy  ulcer,  232. 
Dislocation  of  the  vertebrae,  149. 
Dislocations,  reduction  of,   16,   121, 

125. 
Distemperature,  231. 
Distillations,  113. 

"Dix  Livres  de  La  Chirurgie,"  pub- 
lication of,  47. 
Dogs  as  food,  205. 
Domfront,  246. 
de  Doue,  Seigneur,  197. 
Doulac,  169. 
Dourlan  (DouUens),  244, 


284 


INDEX 


Dowry  of  Jacqueline  Rousselet,  97. 

of  Jeanne  Pare,  99. 
Dressing,  Coligny's  wound,  182. 
ulcer,  method  of,  233. 

time   element   involved,   234. 
wounds,  in  the  left  ventricle,  176, 
of  captured  soldiers,  210. 
of  Monsieur  de  Martigues,  224. 
of  soldiers,  218. 
Dressings,  condition  of,  215. 
Dreux,  Battle  of,  183,  252. 
mortality  at,  92. 
victory  at,  70. 
Dropsy,  148. 
Drouet,  Loys,  38. 

Drugs,   distributed   among  the  sur- 
geons   and   apothecaries,    198. 
poisoned,  194. 
See  Therapeutics. 
Dysentery,  174. 

Earthworms  as  dressing  for  wounds, 

29,  163. 
Edema  of  leg,  cause  of,  266. 
Education  of  Par6,  11,  12,  14,  15. 
Eggs  for  dressing  wounds,  27,  163, 

222. 
Egyptiacum  as  dressing  for  wounds, 

69. 
d'Elboeuf,  Due,  101. 
Elbow   joint,    result   of   setting   of, 

261. 
Elephants'  tusks  as  mummy,  114. 
Elizabeth,    daughter    of    Henri    II, 

115. 
Queen,  246. 
Electuary  of  Maximilian,  119. 
Elian,  horn  in,  119. 
Emaciation    in    case    of    the    Due 

d'Auret,  263. 
Embalming,  113. 
body  of,  Charles  IX,  104. 

Monsieur     de     Martigues,     51, 

226,  229. 
Emetics,   111. 

Empirical   practitioners,   16. 
Emplastrum    diacalcitheos,    272. 
Empyema,  147,  228. 
Emulgent  vein,  228. 
Enemata,  111. 
d'Enghien,  Due,  48,  193. 
English,  defeat  of,  254. 

forces  of,  in  Normandy,  252. 


English,  invasion  by,  account  of,  169. 

withdrawal  of,  179. 
Epilepsy,  263. 

cause  of,  265. 

elk's  hoofs    for,   119. 
Epiploon,  134. 
Erosion,   137. 
Escharotic   medicaments,    137,   232. 

described  by  Mesue,  232. 

ingredients,  232. 
d'Esquetot,  Charlotte,  174. 
d'Estampes,  Due,  40,  168,  173,  237. 

Duchesse,   159. 
d'Est6,  Anne,  99,  193. 
d'Estres,  198,  238. 
Etienne,  Charles,  book  on  anatomy 

published  by,  54. 
d'Eu,  Comte,  252. 
Evelyn,  John,  269. 
Examination,     for     barber-surgeon, 
necessity    for  passing,  25. 

for  master  barber-surgeon,  30. 

physical,  of  the  Due  d'Auret,  262. 
Exercise,  267. 

Excrements,  retention  of,  257. 
Exodus,     sorcerers     condemned    in, 

94. 
Experience  vs.  science,  155. 
Eyes,  fluxion  of  the,  146. 

Facult6  de  medecine,   15,  107,   113. 

action   of,    against    Park's    works^ 
106. 

approval  required  of  the.  111. 

attack  by,  89. 

controversy  with,  76. 

opposition  of,  120. 

Pare's  influence  with,  53. 

records  of,  30. 

translations  of,  16. 
Fagon,  Felix,  77. 
Faking  of  beggars,  96. 
Famese,  Horace,  197. 
Fascines,  191. 

Femoral  bone,  splintering  of,  252. 
Fernel,  counsels  of,  44. 
Fete  days  of  the  peasants,  272. 
Fever,  136,  256,  265,  272. 

as  cause  of  parched  tongue,  267. 

in  case  of  the  Due  d'Auret,  263. 

seizure  by,  223. 
Fevers,  113. 

book  on,  106. 


INDEX 


285 


Fevers,  purpose  of  book  on,  112. 

Figs,  dry.  111. 

Fish,  204, 

Fistulas  of  the  fundament,  150. 

Flanders,  journey  to,  262. 

tour  of,  76. 
Flies,      "procreated"      in      cadavers, 

243. 
Flood,  threatened,  177, 
Flux,  256. 

Fluxions  of  the  eyes,  146. 
Focil,  great  and  little,  139. 
de  Foix,  Claude,  168. 

Odet,  168. 
Fomentations,  application  of,  268. 
de  Fontaine,  256. 
Food,  almonds,  215. 
blanc-mange,  215. 
bones,  124. 
butter,  204. 
cheeses,   204. 
figs,   dry.   111. 
gravies,  215. 
meats,  asses,  205. 
bacon,  204. 
beef,  204. 
cats,  205. 
cows,  salted,  204. 
cows,  tainted,  204,  215, 
dogs,  205. 

hams,  Mayence,  204. 
highly   seasoned,   231. 
horses,   204,   205. 
leather,  205, 
rats,  205. 
nutmeg,  204. 
prunes,  205,  215,  224. 
vegetables,  204. 
beans,  204. 
carrots,  204. 
garlic,  204. 
leeks,   204. 
onions,  204. 
peas,  204. 
radishes,  204. 
rice,  204. 
vinegar,  232. 
See  also  Diet. 
Forest,  Francois,  99. 

Francois,  Junior,  99, 
le  Fou,  169, 

Fracture,  of  the  knee,  262. 
of  leg,  6, 


Fracture,  of  leg,  setting  of,  49, 
sustained  by  Pare,  66, 
of  skull,  trephining  a,  49, 
sustained  by  Henri   II,  58. 
Fractures,   dressing   for,  19, 

treatment  of,  16, 
de  France,  Diane,  child  of  Henri  II, 

44. 
Francois    I,    1,    2,   22,   23,   41,    115, 
158,  175,  182. 
army  of,  178. 
dealii  of,  44. 

establishment  of  school  of  surgery 
by,   17. 
Francois  II,  2,  3,  81,  110. 
accession  to  the  throne  of,  61. 
death  of,  61,  62. 
Francois  II,  of  Luxembourg,  197. 
French  army,  formation  of,  182. 
French  language  vs.  Latin  for  pur- 
pose of  worship,  91. 
language,  use  of  in  Fare's  works, 
110. 
Fundament,  150. 

Gabions,  206,  254. 

Galen,    41,    43,    130,    131,    132,    136, 
137,    146,    149,    152,   222,   228, 
269. 
method    of,    for    dressing    ulcer, 

233. 
translation   of,   16. 
"Gall    stones"    in    tongue    swelling, 

256. 
de  Ganappe,  Sieur,  183. 
Gangrene,  136,  140,  143,  268. 
presence  of,  in  wounds,  242. 
in  wound  in  arm,  250. 
Garlic,  204. 
Gastroenteritis,  65. 
"Generation,"    book    on,   122. 

spontaneous,     incident     attributed 
to,  37. 
Genitalia,  soldiers  hung  by,  219. 
Germaine,   story   of  the  change  of 

sex  of,  33,  95. 
Germans,  208. 
Germany,    Park's    journey    to,    45, 

182. 
Gesner,  109. 
Gilbert,  Maitre,  249. 

medical  opinion  of,  249. 
Ginger,  204. 


286 


INDEX 


Grobel,  Jean,  innkeeper,  143. 
de  Goguier,   182. 

letter  of,  239. 
Gouast,  Captain,  244. 
Gourmelen,  Etienne,  106,  122. 
attack  by,  25,  120. 
attack  upon,  8. 
Gourmeleni,  Stephani,  130. 
"Grand  Appareil,"  12. 
le  Grand,  Monsieur,  164. 
Grangier,  M.,  116. 

Grasshoppers   and   cockchafers,   sol- 
diers compared  to,  203. 
Gravelines,  governor  of,  230. 
Gravies,  215. 
Gregory  XIII,  84. 
Grenade,  explosion  of,  216. 
Grenades,  205. 
du  Guast,  Marquis,  158. 
del  Guasto,  158. 
Guillemeau,    Jacques,    93,    100,    103, 

120,  142,  143. 
Guillemot,   M.,   101. 
de  Guise,  Cardinal,  99,  180,  241. 
Francois,    Due    de    Lorraine,    48, 
81,  84,  99,  180,  182,  183,  186, 
187,    193,    194,    195,    197,    198, 
199,   207,    208,   210,   238,   944, 
249,  252,  261. 
murder  of,  70. 
strategy  of,  201. 
wife  of,  99. 

wounds  of,  42,  180,  259. 
Henry,  99,   180. 
Guises,  1,  2,  178,  246. 
conspiracy  against,  198. 
influence  of,  61,  62. 
presence  of  the,  82. 
Gunpowder,   from   Sedan,  189. 

used   as  explosive,   192. 
Guy  XV,  168. 

Guyard,  groom  of  the  King's  cham- 
ber, 187. 

Haddock,  204. 

Haematuria,  case  of,  39,  174. 

Haemorrhage,    133,    134,    140. 

cautery  to  check,  46. 

following  a  bullet  wound,  224. 

Latin  charm  to  check,  94. 
Hainault,  Mons  in,  262,  273. 
Hams,  Mayence,  204. 
Haultin,  100. 


Havre  de  Grace,  254. 
Heart,  weakness  of  the,  223,  263. 
Heat,    treatment    with,    268. 
Hedelin,  Claude,  31. 

death  of,  103. 
Helin,  140. 
Henbane,  270. 

Henri   II,  3,  47,  57,   115,   158,   159, 
175,  182,  245,  246,  255. 

as  hostage,  23. 

death  of,  58. 

dedication  to,  45. 

personality  of,  44. 

reward  from,  52. 
Henri   III,   2,  4,  22,  104,   105,   110, 
143,   180,  198,  245. 

ascension  to  the  throne  of,  104. 

death  of,  122. 
Henri  IV,  1,  22,  122,  143,  190,  238, 

244,  245. 
Henry  VIII,  22,  23,  158. 
Hepatic  flux,  29,  164. 
Herbs,  see  Therapeutics. 
Hernia,  operating  for,  16. 
Herrings,  204. 
Herve,  Pierre,  139. 
Hery,  Thierry  de,  31. 

dissection  with,  43. 
Heri,  Theodorico  de,  30. 
Hesdin,  190,  197,  235,  236. 

account     of     the     fall     of,     191, 
238. 

journey  to,  213. 
Hippocrates,  110,  130,  132,  136,  140, 
149,  150,  152,  218,  228,  232. 

translation  of,   16,  32. 
Hollier,  133. 

Home  of  Pare,  location  of,  32. 
Honey     and      alum      for     dressing 

wounds,  69. 
Horace,  156. 
Horace,  Duke,  197,  213. 

death  of,  217. 
Horse    meat    for    beef    and    bacon, 

201. 
Horses  as  food,  204,  205. 
Hospital,  improvised   field,  214. 
d"Hostel,  Marie,  139. 
Hotel  Dieu,  31,  78,  151,  167,  198. 

history   of,  20. 

Pare's  training  at,  19,  21. 

term  at  the,  30. 
Hubert,  Richard,  66,  101,  253. 


INDEX 


287 


Huguenot,  chapel  at  Angers,  12. 

leaders,  193. 

party,   82,   182. 

poisoned  as,  109.  , 

taunt   of,   246. 

wars,  246. 
Huguenotism,  3. 
Huguenots,  80. 

defeat  of,  252. 

at  Moncontour,  258. 
at  Saint  Denis,  257. 

war   against   the,   70. 
d'Humeires,   Madame,   115. 
Humerus,   ustion   upon,    149. 
Humor,     glairy,     of     yellow     color, 
256. 

pituitous,   263. 

vicious,  149. 
Hungarian  queen,  237. 
Huron,  Mathurin,   139. 
Hyacinth,  119. 
Hygiene    and    quarantine,   adyocacy 

of,  78. 
Hypospadias,  45. 

Imperialists,  retreat  of,  24,  208. 
Impostor,  incident  of  a  Spanish,  51, 

225. 
Impostors,  incidents  of,  13,  14. 
Imprisonment    with    the    Spaniards, 

52. 
"Incisors,"  skiU  of,  16. 
Incision  to  evacuate  pus,  268. 
Incubi,  94. 

Indians,  American,  210. 
Infantry  attack  at  Theroiienne,  213. 
Infection,  ideas  on,  69,  78,  204,  267. 
Infibulare,  149. 
Inflammation,  265. 

cause  of,  224. 

treatment  for,  222. 
Iron  for  cauterization,  131. 
Italy,  expedition  into,  24,  31. 

Jacques,  Fr^re,  lithotomist,   16. 
James    V   of   Scotland,    180. 
de  Jarnac,  183. 
Jarnac,   Battle   of,   193,   261. 
Jaundice  cured  by  spell,  94. 
Jellies,  215. 

and     dainties     of     "mon     petite 
maistre,"  50. 
Jerusalem,  207. 


Johnson's      translation      of      Fare's 

work,  15. 
de  Joinville,  Prince,  180. 
"Journal    d'un    Bourgeois    de    Paris 

sous  le  Regne  de  Francois  I," 

6. 

Knee  joint,   trauma   in,  265. 
Knee,      arquebus      wound      causing 

fracture   of,   262. 
Knife,  simile  of,  156. 

Labor,  artificial,  by  manual  means, 
92. 

La  Fere,  241,  242. 

death  of  d'Annebaut  at,  167. 
Pare   remains   at,  57. 

La  Fere-en-Tardenois,  240. 

Laffile,  142. 

Lallemant,  Antoinette,  102. 
Etienne,  39. 
Jean,  102. 

Lambert,  Nicole,  39. 

"La  Method  de  Traicter,"  etc.,  pub- 
lication of,  41. 

Landanec,   169. 

Landrecy,  victualing,  41. 

Landreceis,  178. 

Landreneau,   169. 

Lannoy,  22. 

La  NoT.ie,  9,  143.  ^ 

Lansquenets,  161. 

Larks,  204. 

Latin   language,   use   of,  by  physi- 
cians, 16. 
translation  of  Pare's  works,  119. 

de  Lautrec,  Seigneur,  168. 

Laval,  birthplace  of  Pare,  10. 

de  Laval,  41,  168,  170,  173. 

Lavender,  268. 

Lavernault,  Nicole,  175. 

Lavernot,  Nicole,  70. 

Lead,   application   of,   232. 

Leaguers,   122. 

Leather  as  food,  205. 

Le   Charron,   Madame  la  Marquise, 
31,   103. 

Leeks,  204. 

Le  Ffevre,  Charles,  250. 

Le  Fort,  143. 

Le  Juge,  ligature  performed  upon, 
144. 

Le    Paulmier    (the    physician),    at- 
tack upon,  92. 


288 


INDEX 


Le    Panlmier    (Fare's    biographer), 
4,    5,    30,   31,   37,   41,    76,    89, 
98,  99,   103,  107,   141,  245. 
Leprosy,  impostor  feigns,  14. 
Le  Rat,  Captain,  159. 
de  Leschenal,  Leonard,  141. 
L'Estoile,  Pierre,  37. 

journal  of,  6,  124. 
de  Lestre,   Balthasar,   141. 
Leviticus,    sorcerers    condemned    in, 

94. 
Liebault,  Jean,  139. 
"Life  of  Admiral  Coligny,"  incident 

from,  42. 
Ligaments,  trauma  in,  265. 
Ligature,   133,   134,   136,   144. 

amputation  by  use  of,  46. 

compared  with  cauterization,  156. 

discussion  on  the  use  of,  47,  131. 

for  fistula  of  the  fundament,  132. 

of  vessels  by  Gaspard  Martin,  11. 

Fare's  use  of  the,  25,  122. 
Literature  on  Fare,  4, 
Litharge,  269,  272. 
Lithotomists,  monks  as,  16. 
Lithotomy  performed  by  Colot,  12. 
Liver,   cauterization   of,    148. 
Localization   of   buUet   in  Monsieur 
de  Brissac,  39. 

Fare's  method  for,  175. 
Lopez,  the  Spaniard,  210. 
L'Orfevre,   Anne,   197. 
I/Orraine  and  Alsace,  182. 
de  Lorraine,  Cardinal,  241. 

Charles,  due  d'Elboeuf,  101. 

Marie,  180. 
Louis  XI,  1. 
Louis  XII,  22. 
Louvre,  182. 

threat  to  storm,  83. 
Lower    Brittainy,    168 

dances  of,  170. 

journey  to,  40. 
de  Lude,  Comte,  197. 
Lungs,  action  of,  223. 

bone,  splinters  in,  221. 

buUet  shot  in,  217. 

enlargement  of  injured,  224. 

wounding  of,  223, 
Luxembourg,  258. 
de  Luxembourg,  Charles,  197, 
marriage  of,  168. 

Madeline,   197. 


Lycosthenes,   37. 
Lyons,  Archbishop  of,  124. 
Gulf  of,  174. 

Mad  dogs,  bites  of,  110. 

Magna  opera  published  in  1575,  65. 

de    Magnane,    dressing    the    broken 

leg  of.  196. 
Maine,  province  of,  10. 
Maison  de  la  Vache,  37, 
Malgaigne,    4,    12,    18,    20,    31,    41, 

42,  46,  62,  63,  66,  81,  89,  91, 

93,  96,  101,  105,  107,  112,  122, 

130,  132,  160,  180, 
Malines,  76,  276, 
Malvoisie,  111. 

Malzieu,  Andre,  charge  by,  107, 
Mammary  veins,  228, 
de  Majnsfeld,  Peter  Ernest,  258. 
Mansfield,    Count    of,    74,    75,    101, 

174,  259,  260, 
Marchant,  100. 

de  la  Marck,  Guilliaume,  190. 
Mareschal,  Jacques,  103. 
Marguerite,  Archduchess,  23. 
Mariano  Sancto,  practice  of  lithot- 
omy by,  12. 
Marie,  incident  of  changing  of  sex 

of,  33. 
MaroUes,  168,  174. 

journey  to,  40. 
Marseilles,    fortification    of,    24. 
de  Martigues,  Comte,  197,  220,  236, 
capture  of,  219. 
wound  of,  50,  217, 
Martin,  Didjer,  wife  of,  102. 

Gaspard,    barber-surgeon,    11,   39, 

120. 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  3,  61,  180. 
de  Mas,  controller  of  Posts,  143. 
Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  2,  3, 

80,  81,  83,  84,  140,  182,  255, 
inception  of,  255. 
Massage    to    stimulate    circulation, 

266. 
Materia  medica,  see  Therapeutics, 
Maurevel,  182. 
Maurevert,    servant    of   the    Guises, 

83. 
Maximilian,  Emperor,  119. 
Mazelin,   Antoine,  property   of,  38, 

39. 
Jean,  father-in-law  of  Pare,  31. 


INDEX 


289 


Mazelin,  Jeanne,  death  of,  97. 
gift  to,  97. 
marriage,   31,   168. 
Meat,  pressed,  215. 
for  invalid  diet,  270. 
highlj^  seasoned,  231. 
de   Medici,   Catharine,   2,   4,   74,   78, 
111,    113,    115,    143,    158,    193, 
197,  246,  249,  252,  258,  259. 
menage  of,  44. 
machinations    of,   81. 
views  of  Balzac  on,  61,  78. 
Medicine  and  surgery,  interrelation- 
ship of,  112. 
See  Therapeutics. 
Melilot,  268. 
Mendoza,  124. 
Menecrates,  222. 
Mercurial     ointment     for    alopecia, 

96. 
Merimee,  Prosper,  8. 
Mesnager,  Nicolas,  143. 
Metaphysics,   155. 

Metastases  of  internal  organs,  81. 
Metz,   182,   183,   195,   197,  208. 
experiences  at  the  siege  of,  48. 
journey  to,  193. 
Meudon,  32. 
incident   of  life   at,   37. 
property  at,  8. 
Mezeray,  9. 

"Miaut,  miaut,  miaut,"  200. 
Midwives,  skill  of,  16. 
Migraines,   146. 
Jliian  physician,  29,  164. 
Military  surgeon  at  Turin,  Pare  as, 

24. 
Milk  evacuation  through  the  womb, 

228. 
Mine   of   gunpowder,   192. 
Mithridatium,  111. 
Molluscs,  204. 
Moncontour,  74,  258. 
Mons,  75,  262,  273,  274. 
Monster  births,  causes  of,  94. 

descriptiojn   of,  95. 
"Monsters,"'  book  of,  tells  of  arm- 
less man,  34. 
incident  0^  Marie  Germaine  from 
book  of,  33. 
Monsters,  causes  of,  93. 

reference  to,  109. 
Mojitagu,  Lady  Mary  Wortley,  63. 


Montaigne,  2,  32,  33,  90,  95,  158. 
Montbazon,'  Duchess   of,   100. 
de  Montejan,  Rene,  24,  29,  30,  159. 
164,  167. 
death  of,  30,  167. 
wife  of,  101. 
de   Montespedon,  Phillipe,  duchesse 

de  Beaupreau,  101,  159. 
Montgomery     (Gabriel    de),    Comte 
de    Lorges,    kills    Henri    II, 
58,  246. 
Montluc,  9. 

de    Montmorenci,    Anne    de,    2,    23, 
24,    57,    70,    74,   81,    115,    159, 
161,    168,    182,    187,    197,    240, 
247,   252,  257,  259. 
Louise,   182. 
Montpellier,  70. 

surgeons  of,  16. 
de  Montpensier,  193. 

Princesse,    142. 
Mortality,  causes  of,  211. 
at  Dreux  and  St.  Denis,  Q2. 
in  contused  wounds,  249. 
Moses,  laws  of,  on  sexual  hygiene, 

94. 
Moulambert,   179. 
Mountebank  without  arms,  incident 

of,  33. 
Moussey,  M.  Vincent,   102. 
Mucosities,   149. 
Mules  as  food,  205. 
Mummy,    definition    of,    114. 
discourse  on,  114. 
questions      of      Christophe      des 
Ursins  regarding,  197. 
Munitions,  types  of,  169. 
Murder  of  Coligny,  84. 
Muscles,  laceration  of  rib,  223. 

trauma  in,  265. 
Music  of  Low  Brittainy,  170 

to  stimulate  patient's  interest,  273 
Myrtle,  269. 

Nantes,  98. 
Mountebank    without    arms,    born 
at,  34. 
Narwhale,  teeth  of,  119. 
Nausea,   cause   of,   265. 
Navarre,    Henri,    King   of,   47,    73, 
110,   122,   168,   190. 
death  of,  23,  69. 
marriage   of,   82. 


290 


INDEX 


Navarre,  Henri,  King  of,  wound  of, 

248,   260. 
Navarre,  Marguerite  of,  2,   159. 

Kingdom  of,  22. 
Navel,  cautery  about  the,  148. 
de  Naviferes,   Anne,   104. 
de  Nemours,  193. 
Nero,  Emperor,  269. 
Neurological  symptoms,  257,  267. 
Nerval  herbs,  application  of,  268. 
Nerve  of  the  sixth  conjugation,  223. 

descending  from  the  sacrum,  149. 
Nerves,    involvement    of,    139,    267. 
Nightshade,   juice  of,   232. 
Nomenclature     of     diseases     from 

saints,  109, 
Notre    Dame,     Cathedral     de,    boy 
learns  French  at,  153. 

wedding  at  the,  82. 
Nutmeg,   204. 
Nuts,    111. 

Oak  ashes,  268. 
bark,  269.      ^ 
"Observations  diverses  sur  la  steri- 

lite,  perte  de  fruict,"  100. 
Obstetrics,    practiced    by    midwives, 
16. 
artificial  labor  by  manual  means, 

92. 
monstrous  births,  causes  of,  94. 
podalic  version,  44. 
section   on,  44. 
treatise  on,  92. 
Oil,  204,  272. 

administration  of,  internally,  111. 
as  a  poison  antidote,  65. 
boiling,    for   gunshot   wounds,   27, 

28. 
of  elder  for  cautery,  162. 
of  lUies,  as  dressing  for  wounds, 
29,  163,  271. 
puppies  boiled  in,  29. 
of  roses  for  dressing  wounds,  27, 

163. 
of   Venice    for   dressing   wounds, 
29. 
Ointment,  red,  269. 

of  roses,  269. 
Onions,  204. 

raw,  for  bums,  29. 
Operation,  ?or*  cataract,  113. 
for  elbow  joint,  261. 


Operation,  for  hernia,  16. 
for  splintered  bone,  260. 
for  stone,   12. 
for  swollen  breast,  148. 
Opium,  270. 
Organist    at   Notre   Dame,  incident 

of,  153. 
Orleans,   61. 
Os  astragalus,  139. 
Osier,    Sir    William,   copy    of    "An- 
atomic     Universelle"      owned 
by,  66. 
Ottoviano     da     ViUa,     teacher     of 

Colot,  12. 
Oxj'crate,  232,  269. 

compresses  of,  222. 
Oxyrrhodinum,    270. 

Paget,    Stephen,    life   of    Pare,    by, 

5,  246,  255. 
Pain,  cause  of,  223. 

prostration  by,  267. 
"Paix  aux  Dames,"  23. 
Paracelsus,  112. 
Paley,  Chateau  de,  32. 
Paracentesis,  148. 
Paradis,  le  petit,  179. 
Paralysis  due  to  pistol  wounds,  257. 
Pare,  Ambroise,  death  of,  126. 
the  son,  101. 

death  of,  103. 
Anne,  99,  100. 
Bertrand,  104. 

Catherine,   11,  31,  39,  97,   102. 
as  godmother,  102. 
baptism  of,   39,   102. 
marriage  of,  99. 
Francois,  baptism  of,  38. 
Isaac,   baptism   of,   39. 
Jacqueline,  baptism  of,  102. 

burial  of,  102. 
Jean,  surgeon,  11,  96,  98. 
cabinet  maker,  11. 
death  of,  104. 
Jeanne,  97,  98. 
Parentage  of  Pare,  10. 
Paris,  15,  39,  122,  124,  204,  246. 
Parlement,  decision  of.  111. 
decree  of,  106. 
pamphlet  addressed  to,  107. 
session  before,  107. 
Partridges,  204. 
Pas  de  Suze,  engagement  at,  24. 


INDEX 


291 


Passevolants,  178. 

Paul  of  iEgina,  translation  of,  16, 

147,  148. 
Paulain,    singer    at     Notre    Dame, 

140. 
Pavia,  167. 

disaster  at,  2,  22. 
Peace  of  Amboise,  70. 
Peace  of  Cambrai,  ^. 
Peas,  204. 

Penal  methods,  example  of,   14. 
Pepper,  204. 

Perfumes  as  poisons.  111. 
Peripatetics,  16. 
Periscythismos,  147. 
Perpignan,  Siege  of,  39,   168,   174. 
Pescara,   158. 
Pestilence,  cause  of,  243. 
Peyrilhe,  245. 
Philibert,  Emmanuel,  213. 
Philip   II,  84. 

Phlegmonous  distemperature,  231. 
Phthisis,  104. 
Physique,  6. 

Picardy,  expedition  into,  47. 
Piedmont,   164,   167. 
girl,  incident  of,  162. 
Prince  of,  217. 
de  Pienne,  198. 
Pietre,  Simon,  140. 
Piety,  evidences  of,  7. 
Pigray,  Pierre,  253,  258. 
Pincers,      smith's,      withdrawing      a 

lance  with,  180. 
de  Pisseleu,  Anne,  168. 
Plague,  cause  of,  243. 
extent  of  the,  177. 
infection  by,  254. 
Pare's  attack  upon,  6,  79. 
study  of,  73. 
treatise  on,  77,  113. 
Plaintain,  juice  of,  232. 
Plaster,   application   of,   269,   272. 
Plessis  le  Tours,  74. 
Pleural  membrane,  tunic  from,  223. 
Pleurisy,    228. 
Plovers,  204. 

Podalic  version,  reference  to,  44. 
Poisoning,  antidote  for,  73. 
oil  as,  65. 
by  bullets,  248. 
by  corrosive  sublimate,  65. 
by  drugs,  suspicion  of,  193. 


Poisoning    food,    because    of    "Re- 
ligion," 88,  109. 
in  sauces.  111. 
manner  of  avoiding.  111. 
of  Pope  Clement  VII,  111. 
reported,  of  Franfois  II,  110. 
treatment  for.  111. 
Poisons,  110. 

antidoted  by  unicorn's   horn,   115. 
See  also   Toxicolog}'. 
de  Poitiers,  Diane,  3,  45,  197. 
de   Poltrot,   Jean,    180. 
du  Pont,  213. 

capture  of,  219. 
Pont  Saint  Michel,  33,  37,  125. 
Ponthieu,  I'Hotel,  182. 
Poppies  as  sleep  producers,  270. 
Portail,   Antoine,    66,   73,    122,    245, 

258. 
Portet,   179. 

Posson,  Toussaint,  amputation  per- 
formed upon,  141. 
Poullet,  Daniel,  141. 
Practicing  medicine  in   Paris,  43. 
Pre  aux  Clercs,  144. 
Prenatal  impressions,  belief  in,  95. 
Priesthood,   aids  of,  80. 

thieving  by,  176. 
de  Primie,  Jeanne,  38. 
Jehanne,  39. 
Loys,  wife  of,  39. 
Merj',  31. 
Probing,  263. 

Prognosis  of  death,  224,  249. 
Progress  of  the  royal  family  through 

France,  255. 
Property  of  Pare  near  Pont  Saint 

Michael,  8,  38. 
Prosector  for  Sylvius,  Pare  as,  43. 
Prosectors  were  barber  surgeons,  18. 
Prostitutes,  213. 
as  nurses,  215. 
Prostration,  cause  of,  267. 
Provence,  expedition  into,  24. 
Prunes,   204,   215,   224. 
Ptisans,  105,  224. 

Publication   of   book  on  the   treat- 
ment of  wounds,  41. 
of   the   fourth   edition   of   Pard's 

works,  120. 
of   the   Latin   translation    of   the 
complete  works,  120. 
Pulmonary  vein,  224, 


292 


INDEX 


Puppies    as    dressing    for    wounds, 

29,  163. 
Purgation,  231. 
Pus,  evacuation   of,  268. 

of  empyemas,  238. 

presence    of,    in    wound    of    Due 
d'Auret,  264. 

and  sanies,  evacuation  of,  271. 
Putrefaction,   137. 

from  dead  bodies,  218. 

of    bone,    141. 

of  wounds,  242. 

Quack,  Spanish,  51. 
Qua!  des  Grand  Augustines,  32. 
Quarantine,   advocacy  of,  78. 
Quartan  fever,  245. 
Quicksilver,  232. 

Rabelais,  2,  32,  90. 

Rabouteurs,    16. 

Radishes,  204. 

de  Randan,  198. 

"Ranula,"    256. 

Rasse,  Francois,  47,  144. 

Rats  as  food,  205. 

Reason,   impairment   of,  257. 

Recrod,  Captain,   182. 

Rectum,   150. 

Relatives  of  Pare  housed  near  Pont 

Saint  Michel,  77. 
Religion,  bearing  of  language  upon, 
91. 

Pare's,  3,  84. 

"The,"  80,  87,  88,  89. 
Renaud,   Antoine,    143. 
Respiration,     diaphragm     as     chief 
agent  of,  223. 

difficulty    in,    221. 
Rest,    value    of,    for    ulceration    of 

leg,  232. 
Rheims,  192. 
Rhinoceros'   tusks   as   mimimy,   114, 

119. 
Rib,  breaking  the  fifth,  221. 

splinter  of  fourth,  221. 
Ribs,  breaking  of,  227. 
Rice,    204. 
Rigault,   100. 
Ringrave,  Captain,  182. 

Comte,  wound  of,  75,  260,  261, 
Riolan,     Jean,     pamphlet     of,     53, 

140. 
de  la  Rivifere,  Etienne,  47,  54,  66. 


de    la    Roche-sur-Yon,   Prince,    101, 

193,  196,  249. 
la  Rochefoucauld,  198. 
Rodolpho,  patron  of  Vidus  Vidius, 

18. 
de  Rohan,  Monsieur,  39,  42,  45,  168, 
170,    173,    174,    182,    183,    184, 
186. 

Fran^oise,  scandal  of,  193. 
Rondelet,   109. 
Rosemary,  268. 
Roots,  mucilaginous,  222. 
Rose-vinegar,  269. 
Rose-water,  270. 
Roses,  conserve  of.  111. 

oil  of,  as  a  medicament,  222. 

red,  268. 
Rotula  (patella)  of  the  knee,  141. 
Rouen,  75,  190,  252. 

journey  to,  248. 

siege  of,  69,  88. 
Rousselet,  144. 

Barbe,  wife  of  Didier  Martin,  102. 

Francois,  39,  99. 

Jacqueline,  wife  of  Par6,  97. 

Jacques,    97. 

Madame,  102. 
de  Roye,  capture  of,  219. 

Eleanor,  193. 
Rue,  leaves  of.  111. 
Rueff,  37. 
Ruggieri,  the  astrologer,  113. 

Sacrum,  nerve  descending  from,  149. 
Saffron,  269. 

an  ingredient  of  oxycrate,  222. 
Sage,   268. 
Saint  Andre,  Louis  of,  188. 

Mareschal,   183,   194,   195,   252. 
St.  Andre  des  Arts,  32,  102,  104. 

marriage  at,  84. 
Saint  Arnold,  Abbey  of,  210. 
Saint  Aubin,  wounding  of  Captain, 

244. 
St.  Bartholomew,  massacre  of.     See 

Massacre. 
Saint  Come,  two  surgeons  of,  47. 
Saint  Denis,  Battle  of,  74,  116,  159, 
257. 

horn  of,  119. 
Saint  Denis  de  France,  190. 
Saint-Germain-en-Laye,   Pare's  oath 
at.  70. 


INDEX 


293 


de  Saint  Germain,  Jean,  104. 

de  Saint  Germain  L'Auxerrois,  bell 

of,  as  signal,  83. 
Saint  Jean  d'Angely,  siege  of,  255, 
de  Saint  Jean  en  Dauphin,  198. 
Saint  Maigrin,   105. 
Saint  Nicholas,   168, 
Saint  Omer,  238. 
Saint  Pol,  Count  of,  23. 
Saint  Quentin,  193,  240. 
Battle  of,  24,  57,  213. 
Saint  Severin,  marriage  at,  84. 
•Saint  Stephen,  loaves  of,  205. 
Saint   Victor,   abbey  of,   140. 
Salmon,   204. 
Salt,  204,  268. 

for   burns,   29. 
Sambre,  178. 

de   Sancerre,   le   Comte,   183. 
Sanguine  temperament  of  Monsieur 

de  Martigues,  222. 
Sanies,  evacuation  of,  271. 
greenish,  263. 
draining  off,  265. 
Sardines,  204. 
Sarlabous,  Captain,  254. 
Sauces  as  possibiltes  for  poisoning, 

111. 
for  invalid  diet,  270. 
Sausage,  204. 
de  Savoi,   Due,  3,   52,  57,  220,  221, 

225,   227,    229,    230,   237,    240, 

241. 
Jacques,  99,   193. 
Louise,  23. 
de    Savoie,    Charles    Emanuel,    100, 

213. 
Scarifications,  231. 
School  of  Surgery  at  Paris,  17, 
Sciatica,   149. 

Science  rs.  experience,  155. 
de   Scipieaux,   Francois,    194. 
Scrofulous    sores    cured    by    royal 

touch,  110. 
Sedan,  186. 

Seeds,  mucilaginous,  and  roots,  222. 
Seguier,  Pierre,   102. 
Sequestra  in  the  bone,  265. 
Setons,  use  of,  in  gunshot  wounds, 

163. 
Setting    a    leg,    broken    by    canon 

shot,  48. 
Sex,  change  of,  95. 


Sexual  hygiene  in  Leviticus,  94. 
Sforza,   Francisco,  Duke  of   Milan, 

death  of,  23,  158. 
Shad,  204. 

Siege  of  Paris,  122,  124. 
Sight  restored  by  Jesus  Christ,  93, 
Simon,  Henri,  100, 
Skull,  wound  of,  184,  198. 
Sleep    produced    by    artificial    rain, 

270. 
Smallpox,  115,  267, 

epidemic,  73. 

experiments    upon  criminals,   64. 

treatise  on,  77. 
Snake  bite,  6. 
Soissons,  bishop  of,  33. 
Soap,  lack  of,  215. 
Somme,  crossing  the,  240. 
Soporific    action    of    artificial    rain, 
270. 

of  the  poppy,  270. 
Sorcerers,    proof    of    existence    of, 

94. 
Sorrel,  270. 

Sorties,  making  of,  200. 
de  Souvray,  139. 
Spaniard,  cruelty  of,  210. 
Spaniards,  207,   208. 

Pare  captured  by,  50. 
Spanish  king,  succor  of,  259. 

soldiers,  cruelty  of,  219. 
Spells,  use  of,  49,   226. 
Spinal  cord,  function  of,  257. 
Spirits    "acquire    a    bad    diathesia," 

267. 
Spleen,  cautery  on,  148. 
Splinters  of  the  bone,  264,  271. 
Stench    from    cadavers,   243. 
Stimulant    for    heart,    269. 
Stings  of  venomous  beasts,   110. 
Stomach,   cautery   on,    148. 

openings  in,  148. 
Stones  in  the  bladder,  specimens  of, 

96. 
Strappado,  150. 

Stool,  evacuation  of  blood  by,  223. 
Strategy  of  the  Due  de  Guise,  .201. 
Succubi,  94. 
Sully,  reference  to  Pare,  8. 

quotation  from,  87. 
Superstition,  example  of,  49,  94,  GS, 

110,  115,  226. 
Surgeon  at  the  Hotel  Dieu,  20. 


294 


INDEX 


Surgeon-in-ordinary,       Par6       ap- 
pointed, 192. 
Surgeons,  Anny,  198. 
duties  of,  16. 
of  St.  Come,  ineptitude  of,  16. 

work  of,   19. 
of  the  Emperor,  920. 
of  the  long  robe,  15. 
Surgery,   examples    of,    amputation, 
139. 
arteriotomy,  146. 
bandaging,  232. 

cauterization,    use    of,    46,    47, 
130,  131,  148,  268. 
discussion  on,  189. 
for  empyema,  147. 
cruciform  incision,  148. 
of  breast,  148. 
of  liver  and  spleen,  148. 
cicatrization  of  ulcer,  234. 
cutting  for  stone,  16. 
callous  border,  231. 
dressing  fractures,  19,  66. 

ulcer,  233. 
incision  to  evacuate  pus,  268. 
ligature,  46,  122,  131,  132,  133, 

134,  136,  144. 
lithotomy,    Colot's    performance 

of,  12. 
operation    for    bone    splinters, 
260,  271, 
for  cataract,   113. 
for  elbow  jointi  261. 
for  hernia,  16. 
for  stone,  12. 
for  swoUen  breasts,  148. 
paracentesis,    148. 
setting  a  limb,  48,  49. 
smith's  pincers  usea  to  extract 

lance  head,  43. 
tents    and   setons,    use   of^  163, 

272. 
lieing  the  veins,  131. 
treatment  for  fractures,  16. 
trephining  a  fractured  skull,  49. 
ustion  upon  the  humerus,  149. 
experience  in,  151,  152,  153. 

discussion  on,  131. 
Fare's  book  on,  70,  112. 

new  edition,  92. 
school  of,  17. 
Surgery  and  medicine,  interrelation- 
ship of,  112. 


Suze,  Pass  of,  158,  159. 
Swellings,  inflammatory,  256. 
Swiss,  161,  252. 
Sylvius,  168. 

interview  with,  41. 

Pare  as  prosector  for,  43. 
Syncope,  265. 

treatment  for,  269. 
Systole,  221. 

absorption  of  vapors  by,  267. 

Tagault,  Jean,  dean  of  the  Faculty, 

17,  18,  134. 
Xavannes,  9. 

Temperament,  sanguine,  222. 
Tendons,  trauma  in,  265. 
Tents      and      setons      in      gunshot 
wounds,  163,  221. 

of  lead  cannulas,  272. 
Testicles,  delayed  descent  of,  95. 
Therapeutics,  use   of,   aegyptiacum, 
69,  242,  272. 

althea,  271. 

antimony,  use  of,  109,  113. 

armeniac,  269. 

aromatic  compound,  79. 

balm       for      dressing      arquebus 
wounds,  29. 

brandy  as  a  solvent,  271,  272. 

calamine,  269. 

camomile,  268. 

camphor,  269,  270. 

ceratum  refrigerans,  269. 

cheliodonia,  269. 

chestnut  bark,  269. 

cold  cream,  269. 

conserve  of  roses,  111. 

diachylon,  plaster  of,  222. 

earthworms    as    wound    dressing, 
29,   163. 

egg  dressing  for  wounds,  27,  163. 
222. 

emplastrum   diacalcitheoS;   272. 

escharotic   ointment,  232. 

figs,  dry.  111. 

heart   stimulant;   269. 

^enbane,  270. 

honey    and     alum     for    dressing 
wounds,  69. 

hyacinth,  119. 

lavender,  268. 

lead,  application  of,  232. 

litharge,  269,  272. 


INDEX 


295 


Therapeutics,  use  of  mercurial  oint- 
ment for  syphilis,  96. 
mucilaginous  roots,  222. 
myrtle,  269. 

narwhale  teeth,  for  epilepsy,  119. 
nerval  herbs,  268. 
nightshade,  use  of,  232. 
oak  ashes,  268. 
oak  bark,  269. 
oil,  27,  28,  272. 

internal  administration  of,  111. 

of  elder,  for  cautery,  162. 

of  lilies,  29,  163,  271. 

of  roses,   27,   163,  222. 

of  Venice,  29. 
onions,  raw,  for  burns,  29. 
opium,  270. 

oxycrate,    222,   232,   269. 
oxyrrhodimum,  270. 
plaintain,  juice  of,  232. 
poppies,  270. 
puppies,  29,  163. 
quicksilver,   232. 
red  ointment,  269. 
red  roses,  268. 
rhinoceros'  horn,  119. 
rosemary,  268. 
rose-vinegar,  269. 
rosewater,   270. 
rue,  111. 
saffron,  269. 
sage,  268. 

salt  for  burns,  29,  268. 
seeds,  mucilaginous,  222. 
sorrel,  270. 
theriaca.  111,  269. 
treacle,  269. 
thyme,  268. 

turpentine,  use  of,  163. 
unguentum  aegj^ptiacum,  232. 

commitissae,  ingredients  of,  269. 

desiccativum   rubrum,  269. 

refrigerans,  269. 
unicorn's    horn,    119. 
verdigris,  232. 
Venetian  turpentine,  222, 
vinegar,  222,  268,  270 
vipers,   269. 
water  lilies,  269,  270. 
wine.  111. 

and    brandy    as    solvents,    968, 
272. 
yellow  of  eggs,  222. 


Theriaca,  ingredients  and  manufac- 
turer of,  73,  79,  111,  162,  269. 
Therouenne,  197,  213,  235,  238. 
Thionville,  210. 
Thorax,  147,  222,  223,  22i, 
de  Thou,  84. 
Thyme,  268. 
Tiuerius,  Emperor,  222. 
du    TiUet,    Anne,   wife   of   Etienne 
Lallemant,  39. 
Marie,   102. 
Titus,  207. 
Tonsard,    Grand    Vicar    of    Notre 

Dame,   141. 
Toul,  182,  183. 
Tour  d'Ordre,  179. 
Tournahan,    191. 
Tours,  74,  258. 
Toxicologj',  antidote,  73, 
of  unicorn's  horn,  115. 
Bezoar  stone  as  antidote,  109. 
corrosive   sublimate,   108. 
emetics,  111. 
oil  as  antidote,  65. 
perfumers  as  poisoners.  111. 
poisoning  of  Pope  Clement  VII, 

111. 
universal  antidote.  111. 
de  Traisnel,  Marquis,  197. 
Translation,  Latin,  of  Fare's  works, 

119. 
Trauma    from    "wind"     of    cannon 

shot,   179. 
Treachery  of  the  king's  groom,  187. 
Treacle,  '269. 

Treatment  by,  application  of  heat, 
268. 
bandaging,  232. 
bleeding,  19,  222,  231. 
compresses  of  oxycrate,  222,  232, 

270. 
emetics.  111. 
enemata.  111. 

fomentations,  application  of,  268. 
plaster,  application  of,  269. 
rest,  232. 
venesection,  73. 
Treatment   for  contracture,  1^0. 
dislocation,    121,   125. 
dressing   wounds,    19,    27,    28,   41, 
162,    163,    176,    182,   210,   213, 
218,  221,  224,  242,  272. 
epilepsy  with  elk's  horns,  119. 


296 


INDEX 


Treatment  for  fractures,  16. 

gangrene,  266. 

inflammation,  222. 

poisoning,  111. 

syncope,  269. 

ulcerated  leg,  231,  233. 

wounds,  book  on,  41. 

See  also  Therapeutics. 
Tremor,   symptom   of,   263,  265. 
Transportation  of  wounded,  210, 
Trephining    a    fractured    skull,    49, 
198,  242,  348. 

of  Francois  II,  story  of,  61. 
Triari,  dance  of  Brittany,  170. 
de  la  Trousse,  Monsieur,  provost  of 

the  King's  jail,  65. 
Tumors,    material    on     fevers    con- 
tained in  book  on,  113. 
Tunis,  capture  of,  158. 
Tunny,  204. 

Turin,  24,  28,  29,  158,  167. 
Turkey,    alliance    wilii    the    Sultan, 

of,  158. 
Turks,  treaty  with  the,  23. 
Turner,  89,  107. 
Turnips,  204. 

Turpentine  for  dressing  wounds,  27, 
69,  163,  222. 

Unguentum,   aegyptiacimi,   233. 

commitissae,  ingredients  of,  269. 

desiccativiun    rubriun,   ingredients 
of,  269. 

refrigerans,  269. 
Ulcer,   annular,   231. 

incurable,  136. 

of  leg,  treatment  for,  231,  233. 
Ulceration,  265. 

of   buttocks,    263. 
Ulcers,  140. 
Unicorn's  horn,  115,  116,  119. 

discourse  on,   114. 

Fare's  opinion  of,  197. 
Universite     de     Paris,     appeal     to, 

106. 
Urine,  presence  of  blood  in,  223. 
des  Ursins,  Christople  Juvenal,  114. 

Francois    Juvenal,    197. 
Ustion  on  the  humerus,  149. 
Uterus,  incident  of  the  removal  of, 

122. 
Uzes,  Duchess  of,  139. 
de  Valois,  Marguerite,  73,  82. 


Vapors,  arising  from  the  blood,  223. 

fuliginous,  224. 

pressure  of,  265. 
Varices,  cutting  of,  134. 
Varicose  vein,  compress  on,  232. 

ulcer  accompanied  by,  231. 
de    Vaudeville,    52,    232,    236,    237, 
238. 

governor  of   Gravelines,  230. 
Vegetables  for  invalid  diet,  270. 
Vein,  azygos,  228. 

emulgent,   228. 

mammary,  228. 
Veins,  tieing,  131. 
Vena  cava,  224. 
de  Vendome,  Frangois,  47,  190,  192, 

197,  248. 
Venereal   disease  treated   by    "Am- 
brosia," 105. 

scrofula,   110. 
Venesection,   73. 
Venice,  ambassador  to,  167. 
Ventricle   of   the   brain,   pentration 

into,  175. 
Verdigris,  232. 
Verdun,   182,   194,   195. 
Vertebrae,  224. 

cautery  on,  148. 

dislocation  of,  149. 
Vesalius,  41,  43,  58,  112,  133. 
Vesical  calculus,  cases  of,  96. 
Vespasian,  207. 
Vialot,     surgeon,     apprenticed     to, 

12. 
Viard,    Claude,    98,    139,    140,    141, 

144. 
Vidus     Vidius     appointed     premier 

medecin  du  Roi,  17. 
de  Vielleville,  194. 
de  Vigo,  John,  69,  133,  162. 

gunshot    wounds    as    treated    by, 
27. 

textbook  of  Jean,  19. 
ViUaine,  castle  of,  27,  161. 
de  Villars,  Marquis,  213,  219. 
Villaume.  91. 

de  Villeneuve,  Francois,  38. 
Vinegar,  232,  268,  270. 

as  a  medicament,  222. 

and  wine  as  solvents,  268. 
Vineyard  at  Meudon,  8. 
Viper  bite,  6,  70. 
"Snipers,  269. 


INDEX 


297 


Vitr^,  33,  96,  104. 

studying  at,  12,  14. 
Vitriol,  272. 
Vitry-le-Francois,   95. 
Volvulus,  150. 

Vomiting,  sj^mptom  of,  263. 
de    Vousse,    Jean    Lallemant,    Seig- 
neur, 102. 

Walloon,  language  of,  195. 
Water,  straining,  216. 
Water  lily,  269,  270. 
Weapons,  kinds  of,  200,  205. 

arquebus  a  croc,  206. 

battalia,  208. 

bee  de  corbin,  134. 

boettes,  205. 

bullets,  poisoned,  248. 

gabions,  206,  254. 

grenades,  205,  216. 

passevolants,  178. 
Whale,  204. 

catching,  73. 
Whetstone,  simile   of,   156. 
"Whistling"  of  wind  from  wounds, 
221. 


Wine,  111. 

as  invalid  diet,  272. 

and  brandy  as  solvents  for  aegyp- 

tiacum,  242. 
and  vinegar  as  solvents,  268,  272. 
in  pajTnent  for  services,  196. 
use  of,  231. 
white,  as  solvent,  268. 
Womb,  milk  evacuation  through  the, 

228. 
Woodcocks,  204. 
Wool,  use  of,   271. 
Wormius,  Olaus,   119. 
Worms,   in   abscess   formation,   242, 
256. 
use  of,  in  treatment,  163. 
Wound   infection,   cause   of,   69. 
Wounds,  condition  of,  242. 

dressing   of,    19,    27,   28,   41,    162, 
163,    176,    182,   210,   213,   218, 
221,  224,  242,  272. 
publication  of  book  on,  65. 
second  edition,  45. 
Wrestler,  death  of,  172. 

dissection  of  body   of,  41. 
Wrestling  in  Brittany,  41. 


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Packard,  Francis  R  ^  .  ^ 
Life  and  times  of  Ambroise 
Pare  111510-15903 


1 


WZIOO 
P22TP2 
1921 
Packard,  Francis  R 

Life  and  times  of  Ambroise  Pare 
C1510-1590D 


CALIFORNIA  COLLEGE  OF  MEDICINE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  IRVINE 

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